Evidence of meeting #15 for International Trade in the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was tca.
A video is available from Parliament.
2:45 p.m.
Conservative
Tracy Gray Conservative Kelowna—Lake Country, BC
Madam Chair, of course we know that as we go into a successor agreement, there aren't any penalties if Canada and the U.K. do not begin negotiations within a year.
The last time you were in front of the committee, Mr. Forsyth, you mentioned that there may be specific parts of the agreement that the U.K. would want to get back to the table on as soon as possible.
Would each of those still apply if the U.K. is successful in joining the CPTPP, or will some of those be addressed through that?
2:45 p.m.
Director General for Market Access and Chief Negotiator, Canada-United Kingdom Trade Continuity Agreement, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
I would have to give it some further thought, but I think the reasons for the U.K. to come back to the table on a bilateral basis would continue to apply regardless of whether the CPTPP negotiations were ongoing or not.
2:45 p.m.
Conservative
Tracy Gray Conservative Kelowna—Lake Country, BC
Thank you. Would you be able to table that information, in terms of what specifically each of those topics would be? I don't believe you've mentioned what they are.
2:45 p.m.
Director General for Market Access and Chief Negotiator, Canada-United Kingdom Trade Continuity Agreement, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
I'm sorry. What I was referring to was that the reasons for them to come back to the agreement are the same ones that a previous questioner asked me about: the commitment to do so within three years, the accumulation provision and the cheese provision.
Those are the three reasons they would want to come back to the table, because they will lose access to those provisions if a future agreement is not in place.
2:45 p.m.
Conservative
Tracy Gray Conservative Kelowna—Lake Country, BC
I see. Has the government named the chief negotiator for when Canada and the U.K. begin talks on the successor agreement?
2:45 p.m.
Director General for Market Access and Chief Negotiator, Canada-United Kingdom Trade Continuity Agreement, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
No, it has not—not to my knowledge.
2:45 p.m.
Conservative
Tracy Gray Conservative Kelowna—Lake Country, BC
Do you have any indication of when this person might be named?
2:45 p.m.
Director General for Market Access and Chief Negotiator, Canada-United Kingdom Trade Continuity Agreement, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
I'm not sure. There will be some internal discussion on that. It could well be me, but I haven't been informed of that yet.
2:45 p.m.
Conservative
Tracy Gray Conservative Kelowna—Lake Country, BC
Fair enough.
I wanted to ask a little about the MOU. You mentioned earlier that the MOU could be extended if for some reason it's not ratified by March 31. When were you first notified that Canada would not be able to ratify the Canada-U.K. trade continuity agreement by the end of the CETA application to the U.K.?
2:45 p.m.
Director General for Market Access and Chief Negotiator, Canada-United Kingdom Trade Continuity Agreement, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
If I understood the question correctly, when did I first...?
2:45 p.m.
Conservative
Tracy Gray Conservative Kelowna—Lake Country, BC
When were you first notified that we weren't going to meet the timeline of December 31?
2:45 p.m.
Director General for Market Access and Chief Negotiator, Canada-United Kingdom Trade Continuity Agreement, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
It became clear to me that we were not going to be able to meet that timeline probably around the first time I came to appear before this committee. It was made clear by more than a few members that there would not be enough time to review the agreement and provide the work that you needed to do. What was that, towards the end of November?
2:45 p.m.
Conservative
Tracy Gray Conservative Kelowna—Lake Country, BC
That was the first indication you had that we weren't going to meet the timeline of December 31. You're saying it would have been towards the end of November.
2:50 p.m.
Director General for Market Access and Chief Negotiator, Canada-United Kingdom Trade Continuity Agreement, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
I think so. Whenever it was—I can't recall the exact date—I was here. It was when I first appeared before the committee.
2:50 p.m.
Conservative
Tracy Gray Conservative Kelowna—Lake Country, BC
Previous to that, would you have expected that we would meet the timeline by having ratification by the end of December?
2:50 p.m.
Director General for Market Access and Chief Negotiator, Canada-United Kingdom Trade Continuity Agreement, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
I don't know if I would have expected it; I think I would have hoped.
I think the Canadian Parliament needs to review the legislation. It needs to review the bill. It needs the time to do that. All I can do is negotiate the agreement and present it as completed. Parliamentarians need to take the time. Committee members need to take the time to do their work.
2:50 p.m.
Conservative
Tracy Gray Conservative Kelowna—Lake Country, BC
I don't think we have enough time for a question, so I'll just say that as we go into the next negotiations, it will be really imperative to have a wholesome consultation process with the public, with businesses and with workers.
Thank you.
2:50 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Judy Sgro
Thank you very much, Ms. Gray.
We will go to Ms. Bendayan.
Go ahead, please.
2:50 p.m.
Liberal
Rachel Bendayan Liberal Outremont, QC
To pick up on that point, with respect to a ratification process, in your experience working in trade, how long could a ratification process take for a given Parliament? I would imagine that it does fluctuate, but do you have any—
February 5th, 2021 / 2:50 p.m.
The Clerk of the Committee Ms. Christine Lafrance
Ms. Bendayan, unfortunately we have a sound problem.
2:50 p.m.
Liberal
Rachel Bendayan Liberal Outremont, QC
I think it's a boom problem, so my apologies, especially to our hard-working translators.
The question to the witnesses was simply this: In your experience, how long does a ratification process last? I appreciate that it could take a different amount of time, depending on the agreement, but I imagine, given the process that a Canadian Parliament has to go through, that it would take several weeks if not months. Is that your experience?
2:50 p.m.
Director General for Market Access and Chief Negotiator, Canada-United Kingdom Trade Continuity Agreement, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
It definitely has been my experience that it varies. Certainly a Canadian Parliament, each Parliament, in fact, needs to do its due diligence. It needs to do its proper review of the agreements. It very much varies.
We have our process in Canada. Other trading partners have their own processes, and those also vary. I think it's important that each country's parliamentarians do their own review and take the time needed to do that. Once that work is complete, then it can be ratified and moved to entry into force.
2:50 p.m.
Liberal
Rachel Bendayan Liberal Outremont, QC
Thank you.
I know it doesn't pertain directly to Bill C-18, but a number of other members have raised questions related to the U.K.'s interest in joining the CPTPP. I am wondering if you can clarify for all of us the process involved for our country to join that multilateral agreement. It's my understanding that it is complex. I am wondering if you can take us through that process.