International Trade Committee on Feb. 1st, 2021

[John Hannaford]

Thanks, Minister, and thanks, Madam Chair.

It has been a priority for us to be clearing the way, to the greatest extent possible, for the delivery of the vaccines that have been contracted under the APA. That continues to be the top priority for the government generally.

As the minister has been saying over the course of today's presentation, that has involved extensive conversations across our network in Europe to make sure there is full delivery of the vaccines we have expected to receive, and that work continues. We've received the assurances that we have, and we continue to make sure that will unfold as is expected over the course of the next period of time.

That's why it's critical that we have the degree of engagement that we have at all levels, from the Prime Minister down.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much.

We will move on to Mr. Blaikie for two and a half minutes.

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

For over 30 years now, Liberals and Conservatives have taken arguments about the importance of trade between countries and lifted it up to a kind of blind article of faith that globalized trade is always the way to find a solution. I think the pandemic has really emphasized the inadequacy of relying solely on that dogma, if you will.

We're seeing it with respect to vaccines. We don't have domestic vaccine.... We do have some domestic vaccine production, but Canada doesn't seem to have secured the right to produce a vaccine here at home. We've heard that we have the capacity through the NRC to produce the AstraZeneca vaccine, but we don't have the right.

We've seen it in other sectors. We have an airline industry that's in distress and we don't have any meaningful strategy for the airline industry here. It's all laissez-faire. On oil and gas, we've lost a lot of the value-added work over the last 20 or 30 years, and we focus only on extraction and then shipping the raw resource out of the country.

This, to me, seems to be a bit of the hens coming home to roost. We hear the minister and other MPs on the panel today talk about the importance of strengthening global supply chains, but all our partners, who have also engaged in this kind of globalized trade, have hedged their bets, have understood that they still need industrial planning at home, that they still need to identify priorities like vaccine production in the case of a crisis. Canada seems to be one of the few countries in the west that hasn't done any of that hedging.

I am wondering if the minister has learned any lessons about that blind faith in globalized trade and that approach to managing Canada's economy, making sure that for important strategic industries or things like vaccine production, we have a plan for how to look after ourselves instead of simply relying on the good faith of international partners, which we've seen can change very quickly in a crisis.

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Markham—Thornhill, ON]

I want to thank the honourable member for that very important question. I'm not sure I can get in the full answer in the time I have, but let me give this a bit of a try.

I'm very proud to be part of a government where the trade agreements that are negotiated are inclusive. They are inclusive because the government believes, and I think the member opposite may agree, that where there is trade, the benefits of that trade must also accrue to workers and to people in those respective countries and certainly to Canadians—small and medium-sized businesses, indigenous entrepreneurs, women entrepreneurs, racialized entrepreneurs and new immigrant entrepreneurs. In the agreements that we have negotiated, whether it be the recent CUSMA, CPTPP or CETA, they have high standards that include particular chapters that have provisions for labour and provisions that protect the environment. I think it's absolutely important that we have the arrangements we do and are steadfast at being able to ensure that trade and the benefits of it accrue to all Canadians.

I want to thank the honourable member for the work he championed around greater transparency, particularly around sharing with Canadians, seeking input from Canadians and our colleagues, before we enter into an agreement. I'm going to be looking forward to doing that, probably with the first one coming up, which is with the United Kingdom. Suffice it to say that inclusive trade and ensuring that, as businesses grow, workers are part of that growth, and more people are able to access the benefits through the economy, is very, very much the work that I look forward to doing every single day in this portfolio.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much, Madam Minister.

We will now go to Ms. Gray.

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Minister, it was reported that the EU's executive received notice from Belgium that would allow it to limit vaccine exports. Of course, this is a primary location where Canada would be getting vaccines from. We heard from you today that you don't have any written assurances or commitments from the EU.

Are you able to table today any written assurances or commitments that you've received from the Government of Belgium, where our Pfizer vaccines are shipped from, and from the Government of Spain, where the Moderna vaccines would be shipped from, to Canadians?

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Markham—Thornhill, ON]

I want to thank my honourable critic for that question. As I said earlier, I did speak to my Belgian counterpart yesterday. It was late yesterday, so perhaps the readout hasn't made its way out yet, but certainly it will be, as I always do that. I did get assurances from the deputy prime minister on Canada's shipments and that the mechanism will not affect Canada's vaccine shipments.

I am going to be speaking to my counterpart in Spain, which is the reason that I.... You know, I must do that; it is scheduled. In all of this, nothing is more urgent or important than to make sure that we are working with our colleagues, both member states as well as the European Union, to ensure that there's no delay.

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Thank you, Minister. A readout is not a transcript. A verbal assurance is not the same as a written commitment.

Minister, I want to go to a different topic here. Yesterday the Pan American Health Organization stated that countries in the Americas, including Canada, were notified of first COVID-19 vaccine allocations through Covax. With export controls now in the EU, do you anticipate similar measures affecting this allocation?

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Markham—Thornhill, ON]

That's a really important question, particularly around the Covax facility. Canada contributes to this. Indeed, our contribution to the global response to COVID-19 is around the order of $480 million. As I think I said a little earlier, as long as one country is at risk, I think we're all at risk, so all of us are working together in support of the Covax facility to ensure that the global vaccination effort also takes place.

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Minister, can you table the letter or information that the Government of Canada would have received from the Pan American Health Organization?

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Markham—Thornhill, ON]

I'm just learning about that letter right now. Why don't I take it under advisement and come back to the committee, if that's all right?

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

If you're not able to table that today, can you at least tell the committee how many doses Canada will be receiving through Covax? When will we be receiving them?

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Markham—Thornhill, ON]

I don't have that information readily available. The work with respect to Covax is ably handled by my colleague in international development, but I'm happy to return to the committee with that information.

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Minister, another concern with these export controls from the EU is that even if they do not restrict vaccine exports to Canada, bureaucracy and paperwork for approval will slow down the process.

Are you aware of this concern? Did you raise this with your EU counterpart? Can you table for the committee any analysis that your department has done on how this might impact our vaccine strategies for procurement to Canada?

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Markham—Thornhill, ON]

That's a really important question.

This is exactly why we have officials on the ground in the missions in the European Union. They're working with their counterparts and colleagues at the working level—both with member states as well as with the European Union and also with the companies through our trade commissioner service—to ensure that operationalizing this mechanism does not cause any delays and that we are supporting the companies as they need to meet their obligations under this mechanism.

We are working to ensure that this work is done not only at my level but at the working level, to ensure that there aren't any impacts on Canada's shipment of vaccines.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much, Minister.

One o'clock is our regular completion time, but I'm going to suggest that we excuse the minister to go and do the important work that she's doing. I understand the officials can stay for an additional 15 minutes. If that's okay with the committee, we can continue on for an additional 15 minutes with whichever members can remain.

Minister, thank you very much for your information. Good luck on the work you're doing on behalf of all Canadians.

[Mary Ng, Liberal, Markham—Thornhill, ON]

Thank you very much, Madam Chair, for having me here.

Thank you so much, colleagues, for all of your questions today.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Mr. Arya, you have five minutes.

[Chandra Arya, Liberal, Nepean, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

The minister has left, but I wanted to thank her and her colleagues for the excellent work that the government is doing in battling this pandemic. The people of Nepean and all Canadians appreciate the work that is being done. I hope the officials will convey my sincere thanks to the minister and her colleagues.

On the question of the vaccines, there has been talk about the written agreement and the verbal assurances. I'm glad that we have a written advance purchase agreement, as the minister said.

Before I go to that, there has been a suggestion, if I'm not mistaken, that we have to retaliate. I wish the officials recognized that starting a fight with retaliation does not lead to any solution. The way this has been handled diplomatically is the right way to go. I hope the government continues to act in this way.

As the minister mentioned, this is a global problem and we need to find global solutions. In particular, I would like to know what the Ottawa Group is doing to face this problem with the vaccine supply.

[John Hannaford]

The Ottawa Group has been an extraordinarily important forum for discussing a range of issues that are confronting the World Trade Organization. We've been active now for a couple of years in convening the Ottawa Group with a view to talking about not only some of the reform issues that have been on the WTO agenda for a period of time now, issues like transparency, negotiation and dispute settlement, but also most recently, as a result of the pandemic, some of the trade aspects of dealing with the pandemic. These have included not only issues around trade measures but also issues around transparency and looking forward as to how to develop rules with respect to trade liberalization pertaining to health.

The Ottawa Group continues to be very active in that regard. We have conversations at the level of officials and ministers that advance that set of agendas.

The minister made reference earlier in this presentation to the communication that was developed through the Ottawa Group with respect to health, and that continues to be one of our central focuses in the work that we're doing. It really is with a view to ensuring the WTO is best placed to address the sorts of challenges that have been highlighted by the circumstances we are collectively facing.

[Chandra Arya, Liberal, Nepean, ON]

Thank you.

Canada is a trading nation; 60% of our GDP comes from trade. This pandemic has created challenging times for international trade. Protectionist measures are being contemplated by fellow countries, but in the long run it is in our interest to see that trade goes on through the multilateral and bilateral mechanisms we have in place.

Are you witnessing any protectionist measures from any country, any region or any bloc that is affecting Canadian trade to date?

[John Hannaford]

We've been very alert to any of the possible ramifications of the pandemic on our supply chains. That's work we've continued to do and it has manifested itself in a number of ways. I've already mentioned the Ottawa Group and some of the efforts that have been pursued there, but we've also worked with other groupings of like-minded states to promote the most liberalized approach to trade during this period, with a view to making sure that supply chains remain open and that our vital interests are reflected through that kind of process. That continues to be a priority for us in the trade world, and we have been very active participants in those conversations.

[Chandra Arya, Liberal, Nepean, ON]

In this pandemic have you seen any significant impact on Canadian imports or exports during the last 12 months?

[John Hannaford]

We've been reasonably successful in maintaining a free flow of goods during this period. It's due to a number of factors, not least the kinds of initiatives that we have been pursuing with key partners.

Our trade with the United States, for instance, has continued to be very positive during a period where obviously there have been particular challenges. It's a question of continued vigilance, and it is one of the reasons why the discussions that we're having and the fora where we are pursuing these issues, like the WTO, are important.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you, Mr. Hannaford.

I've just been informed that both our departmental people here have apparent conflicts.

Can we go to Mr. Hoback for five minutes, thank everybody and then move on? Is that okay with the committee?

Mr. Hoback.