Evidence of meeting #12 for International Trade in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was ukraine.
A video is available from Parliament.
5:10 p.m.
President, STAS
Yes, sorry. I'm back.
Multilateral sanctions have a very big impact. We have to abide by the Canadian, American and European sanctions. Not only does that make it incredibly complex for us to do business, but it also drives up the costs associated with compliance.
5:10 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Judy Sgro
Thank you.
We'll go on to Mr. Savard-Tremblay for two and a half minutes, please.
5:10 p.m.
Bloc
Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay Bloc Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC
Mr. Bouchard, I think the situation calls for market diversification, and my sense is that you have come to the same conclusion.
Did you get the support you need on that front?
What would you like to see in terms of support?
5:10 p.m.
President, STAS
Thank you for your question, Mr. Savard‑Tremblay.
Yes, market diversification is necessary. We are always on the lookout for opportunities. I would say that, today, STAS has an international presence in the aluminum market. We need to grow and strengthen our commercial presence in all of those markets and diversify into new technologies and products. That will require a tremendous amount of support given the extraordinary circumstances we are dealing with right now.
5:10 p.m.
Bloc
Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay Bloc Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC
If I understand correctly, you haven't received that support thus far.
5:10 p.m.
President, STAS
No, none whatsoever. The Canadian government is taking the position that Russia accounts for a very minor portion of Canada's international trade. I agree with that, but the repercussions are very serious for some companies and the government needs to support them.
5:10 p.m.
Bloc
Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay Bloc Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC
Have you looked into the matter from a legal standpoint, to see whether there are any precedents or some type of grandfather clause?
5:15 p.m.
President, STAS
No. We are in the process of looking [Technical difficulty—Editor] and we are trying to balance—
5:15 p.m.
Bloc
Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay Bloc Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC
We can't hear you very well, Mr. Bouchard.
Could you please repeat what you were saying?
5:15 p.m.
President, STAS
We are in the process of looking into that. We are trying to see what our options are.
5:15 p.m.
Bloc
Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay Bloc Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC
Very good.
Have you learned anything? Have you made any inquiries as far as government departments or agencies are concerned?
5:15 p.m.
President, STAS
We are trying to reach out to the various departments, but the chain of communication is a bit challenging.
No one in the government seems to be taking the lead on what the repercussions are or how the government can help Canadian companies.
5:15 p.m.
Bloc
Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay Bloc Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC
You talked about market diversification supports.
I'm being told that my time is up.
Thank you, Mr. Bouchard.
5:15 p.m.
Liberal
5:15 p.m.
NDP
Brian Masse NDP Windsor West, ON
Thank you, Madam Chair.
I would like to return to Mr. Agnew.
I'm just curious with regard to the financial sector. There's been some co-operation internationally. There's been a lot of attention, obviously, to oligarch yachts and stuff like that, but do you have any idea how we're doing as nation states, like Canada and the United States, with regard to, say, the retail, commercial and financial sectors, and whether or not we're matching up and aligning very well?
I haven't seen any analysis on whether or not we're actually on the same stream of things with regard to some of the retail and commercial sectors regarding sanctions.
5:15 p.m.
Senior Vice-President, Policy and Government Relations, Canadian Chamber of Commerce
I haven't done any line by line, because there are, obviously, many individuals who have been added to the list. One area where Canada does need to up its game, as it relates to individuals, is in terms of beneficial ownership. This is something that's been talked about since, I believe, 2012-13, if you were to go back to various G7 communiqués. Progress has been slow here, because it involves provincial jurisdiction. Certainly, that would be an area we need to do more work on, internally, to get our house in order with federal-provincial co-operation.
5:15 p.m.
NDP
Brian Masse NDP Windsor West, ON
That is music to my ears. I remember beneficial ownership on the industry committee. I actually lost a series of amendments on that. We're almost a rogue state, when it comes to the clandestine hiding that can happen with it. I really appreciate that commentary, because it really was evident, and we missed that opportunity about five years ago.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Those are all my questions. I appreciate the witnesses for being here on such a difficult day.
5:15 p.m.
Conservative
Tony Baldinelli Conservative Niagara Falls, ON
Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you to the witnesses for being with us today.
I'm going to split my time with my colleague.
I want to follow up on what my Liberal colleague mentioned and ask Mr. Bouchard some questions. I also want to follow up on my earlier questions regarding Export Development Canada, EDC.
You mentioned earlier that you have about $4.4 million at risk. You mentioned that EDC would no longer provide insurance after 2014. When were the contracts you're engaged in now entered into? Were they after 2014, in the period in which EDC would no longer provide insurance? I'm trying to get my head wrapped around some of that. Could you provide an answer to that?
5:15 p.m.
President, STAS
Yes, absolutely. Most of the projects we carry out span two to three years. The projects we are working on today were approved after 2014, in or around 2018 or 2019.
5:15 p.m.
Conservative
Tony Baldinelli Conservative Niagara Falls, ON
In that case, you were aware you would not have the backstop of EDC providing any assistance, or insurance, for those contracts you were going to go forward with from a risk management perspective. I just wanted to clarify that, and I will pass it on to my colleague.
5:15 p.m.
Conservative
Ziad Aboultaif Conservative Edmonton Manning, AB
Thanks, Mr. Baldinelli.
The question is again for Mr. Agnew. The sanctions could provide an opportunity for Canada-Ukraine trade, and could also have the opposite effect. Would you be able to comment on that?
It's very critical if we are planning to move forward. Hopefully, the situation in Ukraine will settle soon, so we won't have to worry about that, but on the other hand, we need to know.
What do you think the effect of those sanctions is, whether negative or positive, on the whole trade relationship with Ukraine?
5:20 p.m.
Senior Vice-President, Policy and Government Relations, Canadian Chamber of Commerce
I don't believe that sanctions on Russian entities will have an impact on Canada-to-Ukraine trade flows. What I suspect we'll see is that, unfortunately, due to the conflict, trade between Canada and the Ukraine will collapse and there won't be very much happening, just because of the market uncertainty. That will start to increase, hopefully, when the conflict ends, regardless of whether or not the sanctions are still in place on Russian entities.
