International Trade Committee on Nov. 30th, 2020

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Mr. Dhaliwal, you have time for a short question.

[Sukh Dhaliwal, Liberal, Surrey—Newton, BC]

In short, because we are going into the holiday season, I would like to request minister that, if there are any further developments, the minister share them with the committee members on all sides.

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

I agree and am looking forward to working with all of our colleagues on all sides.

I think all of our businesses across the country are telling us that it's really important during COVID-19, and an economic recovery is absolutely top of mind for them. This continuity agreement continues to preserve that access.

I'm looking forward to working with everyone on this.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much, Minister.

[Sukh Dhaliwal, Liberal, Surrey—Newton, BC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Mr. Savard-Tremblay is not with us today, but we have Mr. Barsalou-Duval.

Go ahead for six minutes, please.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I thank the minister for coming to testify today.

She may not be surprised by my question, but it is one that is on everyone's lips and for very good reason. Usually, when we ask questions in committee concerning a topic we must vote on or when we receive a bill or are dealing with an important issue, we can look at it before we position ourselves.

In this case, we must take a position based on words, thoughts and intentions, but there is nothing concrete. We are talking about an important economic agreement between Canada and the United Kingdom. Yet, we have no text for it.

Could the minister tell me why we have no text and when we will have one?

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

Of course, absolutely, I respect the work that you and your colleagues do in the service of our businesses. This continuity trade agreement was reached last week, and our officials immediately began the work of ensuring that the legal text of this agreement is reviewed and ready to be provided to us.

I want to commend the officials on both sides and in both countries for their work. I will endeavour to make sure that we get this to you. Of course, we're here today so that I can share the elements of what is in this agreement with you. I'm certainly pleased to be able to do that with you.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

I assume that—

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Outremont, QC]

I have a point of order, Madam Chair.

I apologize; I did not mean to interrupt my colleague.

I just want everything to be very clear on the record: we are not currently studying the legislative measure. This is a preliminary study that was undertaken before the negotiations were concluded, at the end of last week. In fact, we are continuing the preliminary study at the request of opposition parties. We will be able to carry out the study on the legislative measure afterwards.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Ms. Bendayan, I'm sorry. That's not a point of order. It's a point of debate.

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Outremont, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

I think your point was well across....

If we could go back to the member....

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I have another question for the minister.

You will understand that we cannot take a position on a document if we don't know what it contains. I assume that you would also not take a position on a document if you don't know what it contains.

I know that you are trying to be reassuring in terms of its content. However, we are used to bad surprises with the federal government, be they coming from the Liberals or the Conservatives, when it comes to gaps in supply management, for instance.

The deadline is set for December 31. Today is November 30, and we will stop sitting on December 11.

Since we don't know whether we will have the text before December 11, would you be able to tell us how many pages it will contain, so we can know how much work there may be? You will understand that, if we have one day left to vote on a 600-page text, that makes no sense.

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

Let me start by saying that we will endeavour to share this with colleagues as soon as possible. The officials are doing this really important work. I want to the committee to know that I respect the work you need to be doing in your work in studying this.

With regard to the agreement, I think it bears repeating that it is a rollover. It replicates CETA, but of course it is a bilateral agreement with the United Kingdom. Though it is a bilateral agreement, it does replicate what is in CETA. I will just remind everyone that it will eliminate tariffs on 98% of Canadian products that are exported to the United Kingdom. It will preserve CETA's high standards for access for women and businesses, as well as the environmental and labour standards. It also fully protects Canadian producers of all supply-managed sectors.

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Thank you, Minister, but I was asking you how many pages the text will have. Will it be 10 pages, 300 pages or 1,000 pages? That will determine how much time will have to be set aside for considering the document that will be presented.

I understand that it is a document inspired by something that already exists. However, if we had an idea of how much content there was, that could also help us plan our time and know whether we will have a holiday break or not.

I have another question that could be of interest to you.

You talked a lot about predictability earlier. It is important for businesses to have certainty about the future and to have stability. When we invest, we want to do so knowing that there will be a return on investment and knowing the taxation level, as well as the regulatory framework. I understand, as people often don't invest for two days, but for years.

The deadline is December 31. I am now thinking about those business owners. By not knowing what the text of this agreement is, if I had an important decision to make about investments with the United Kingdom, would I decide to make a commitment or to wait?

That is another important question.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much, Mr. Barsalou-Duval.

Madam Minister, please give a short answer to what ended up being a long question.

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

To the businesses, that is the whole objective of this continuity agreement: predictability and certainty. I want to assure Canadian businesses that we are also working on mitigating measures so that we are mitigating any impact of any disruptions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much.

We go on to Mr. Blaikie for six minutes.

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

Thank you, Madam Minister, for being here.

My first question is whether at any time you directed the Canadian negotiating team to remove the investor-state dispute settlement provisions that exist in CETA from the transitional agreement with the United Kingdom.

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

Thank you, MP Blaikie. It was really terrific to talk to you the other day.

This agreement is a replication of CETA, and our objective and goal is to provide that continuity based on CETA as the U.K. leaves the EU. There will absolutely be opportunities to seek input from Canadians and from businesses on a new FTA, but the purpose and the objective of this agreement is to replicate CETA so that there is predictability for businesses.

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

I know in the instance of CUSMA, Minister Freeland was very enthusiastic about the removal of the ISDS provisions from the original NAFTA, so I'm wondering if it will be an objective of the Canadian government in the subsequent negotiations to not have investor-state dispute settlement clauses in a new trade agreement with the United Kingdom.

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

That's a really important question and I think one that we will have an opportunity to dive into when we begin to pursue a new FTA with the U.K. We plan to do this within a year, as this transitional agreement will have outlined for us, and I will have an opportunity to engage all of my colleagues, and certainly Canadians, on this important feature.

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

Can you confirm for the committee whether there's a sunset clause in the transitional agreement that's been negotiated?

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

The agreement does not have that, but it does commit us to seeking to conclude negotiations within a three-year period after this agreement goes into force.