International Trade Committee on May 30th, 2022

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much.

We'll go to Mr. Masse, for two and a half minutes, please.

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

I don't know whether Mr. Christie would be the person to answer. Is there an evaluation done with regard to our trade agreements with respect to what we profess they're going to accomplish? With the investments, a lot of numbers are thrown around. Are they reviewed later on and then made public as to what actually transpired?

I've been around, and have seen many promises from different nations in terms of free trade agreements and trade deals we've cut, but I haven't seen much follow-up. That doesn't mean I know where that information is, but I'd like to hear how we evaluate what's transpired.

[Bruce Christie]

After a free trade agreement comes into force, we work with our negotiating partner to regularly monitor the impact of the trade agreement. On the Canadian side, we work very closely with our chief economist's office at the Department of Global Affairs to measure the increased benefits through trade investment across a wide range of sectors of importance for Canada.

We work very closely with Sara Wilshaw's team and the trade commissioner service to target those specific markets and sectors to make sure that Canadian producers and companies, particularly SMEs, are made aware of these specific opportunities, for example—

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

I'm sorry. I'll have to interrupt, as I have only two and a half minutes.

Do we publish the results? Like with the free trade agreement with Lithuania that we signed, is there anything made public afterwards in terms of what we said and promised that it would actually result in? Do we measure and report back to say where we're overachieving and underachieving?

Is that made public and published?

[Bruce Christie]

I don't believe it's published. We provide that information to all our stakeholders and industry partners, but I don't believe it's formally published in a parliamentary document, if that's what you're referring to.

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Yes, that's what I'm after. That might be helpful, because we sign these agreements as politicians and then, unless we do independent parliamentary research, we don't really get a snapshot as to where we may have overachieved or underachieved in some areas. There could also be different dynamics that have arisen since then.

I am looking for whether or not we should be looking at an annual report to Parliament at some point.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you, Mr. Masse. I'm afraid your time is up.

We go on to Mr. Hoback for five minutes, please.

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

Thank you, Chair.

I'm giving Mr. Baldinelli my last minute. I'll just make you aware of that, so you can let me know when we're close to that point.

The first thing is on the U.K. agreement. I understand we started into negotiations on that agreement. We look forward to seeing the interim agreement come to an end, the new agreement come into play, and the fixes we require for our agricultural producers.

I want assurances from the department that they will not approve U.K.'s accession into CPTPP until we have a bilateral agreement in place at this point in time.

Has that been the mandate given by the minister to the department?

[Bruce Christie]

Madam Chair, I can answer that question.

I'm working with my colleague, Doug Forsyth, who's our chief negotiator for the Canada-U.K. free trade agreement.

I'm responsible for negotiating the U.K.'s accession to the CPTPP. I can assure you that Doug and my team are working very closely together to make sure we're able to maximize the benefits to Canadian companies and producers through those two parallel negotiations.

Minister Ng has requested that we continue to leave both negotiations open until we are satisfied that we have obtained everything we can through both channels for Canadian companies.

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

What process are you putting in place to consult with stakeholders in regard to both these agreements as they unfold?

Previously, we used to have quarterly and monthly meetings with Mr. Verheul, where stakeholders could actually dial in and listen to an upcoming report on the exact status of both negotiations.

What have you put in place at this point in time to do that?

[Bruce Christie]

I will answer your question related to the CPTPP negotiations. As I'm sure you're aware, we did extensive consultations with stakeholders in terms of which of the priority markets they believed Canada should pursue in a CPTPP expansion. We held industry and other stakeholder group events, including with indigenous groups, SMEs and whatnot, but I will turn to my colleague, Doug Forsyth—

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

Just before you turn it over, though, you didn't answer about ongoing...going forward, as you're going through the process.

Historically, there have always been consultations while we have been in the negotiating process. Are you doing that as well?

[Bruce Christie]

Yes, we absolutely will. We will continue to hold consultation meetings with our stakeholders to keep you informed of the progress made during the negotiations.

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

Thank you.

[Doug Forsyth, Director General, Market Access, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development]

I can just pick up on that, Madam Chair.

Yes. I can confirm that following round one of our negotiations with the United Kingdom, we had a full stakeholder debrief. We will continue to hold those debriefs and those consultations as we move forward in the negotiations.

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

Okay. That's exactly what I wanted to hear, because those have been so helpful in the past. I sure hope that's continuing.

I'm going on to our trade commissioner service. I'm a big fan of the trade commissioner service. I think they do a wonderful job. I often think they are unsung heroes.

One thing I'm always concerned about is their plugging into our municipal markets. For example, we have Greenfield. We have land sitting there, available. Are they aware of it? How do they know what's available in Saskatchewan versus what's available in Mr. Baldinelli's riding?

How do they take that to our foreign investors to show what the opportunities are in Canada? How do they transfer that knowledge?

[Sara Wilshaw]

Thanks for your ongoing support of the trade commissioner service. They certainly appreciate that.

We have a network of 44 trade commissioners who are dedicated to foreign direct investment around the world in our missions abroad. They also work very closely with a lot of the provincial representatives, who are increasingly co-located in missions abroad and work very closely together.

We also have regional offices across the country. They stay very closely plugged into their provincial counterparts and economic development agencies, and meet with them regularly. We have very close co-operation across the board.

We also work, of course, with Ms. Curran and Invest in Canada. They have other means and mechanisms to stay coordinated with both provincial and municipal authorities to understand the opportunities and to help work out any challenges that arise.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much, Ms. Wilshaw.

Mr. Baldinelli, you have 45 seconds.

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls, ON]

Madam Chair, I'd like to propose the following motion. “Given that the committee has had only one day to examine the estimates of both Invest in Canada and the Canadian Commercial Corporation, the committee requests that the Auditor General examine both agencies and their expenditures to ensure they are meeting their mandates and providing value for the expenditures being allocated to both, and that the Auditor General present his findings to the committee and make his findings public.”

That is the motion.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you, Mr. Baldinelli.

I'm just checking on procedure here. Can we go on to our last speaker, so—

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

Sure. I just want to deal with it in this meeting, Chair. I trust you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Okay. We'll have Mr. Virani. He'll be the last speaker.

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Thank you very much.

First of all, in respect to something that was raised by Mr. Baldinelli in his intervention, I just want to note that the minister was already scheduled to be here, at this meeting, when it was originally scheduled for 3:30 p.m., as Mr. Baldinelli and his party know. The finance committee took precedence because of the important work that's being done at the finance committee, thus shifting today's meeting to 11:00 a.m. from the previously scheduled 3:30. That is the only reason Minister Ng is not here right now, and all parties, including the Conservative Party of Canada, agreed to that arrangement.

For my second point I'm going to direct a question to Mr. Christie.

You were asked, sir, in some questioning—I think it was by Mr. Martel—about the U.S.-led initiation of discussions about Indo-Pacific strategy and Canada's not being present. I think you accurately outlined some of the ways in which Canada is already present in the Indo-Pacific, and I'm just going to reiterate some of this as a reminder to all committee members.

First of all, we have a Korean free trade agreement. We are a part of the CPTPP, and indeed, that's something the United States actually stepped out of. We are pursuing ASEAN, as you noted, and Indonesia, and we have an early harvest agreement with India.

Going back to the issue with the CPTPP, I'll actually put to you, Mr. Christie, a quote from Jacinda Ardern, the Prime Minister of New Zealand. She said that if the U.S. wants more engagement in the Indo-Pacific, then the CPTPP is the table to sit at.

Given that Canada is already at that table, Mr. Christie, can you comment on Canada's state of engagement in the Indo-Pacific, and how that compares to engagement by the Americans?

[Bruce Christie]

As you pointed out yourself, we are very active in the region, not just through the CPTPP.

Let me just add here that we would welcome the United States back to the CPTPP. My sense is that the Indo-Pacific economic framework is another way that the United States are looking to expand their footprint in the Asia-Pacific region, making it clear—at this time, anyway—that they have no definitive plans to come back to the CPTPP.

In terms of Canada's engagement, yes, as you pointed out, and as I referenced earlier, we're looking to engage with all of the CPTPP parties to broaden that trade agreement to provide further, more expansive benefits to Canadian companies and producers. We're also looking at the ongoing trade negotiations with our ASEAN friends, as well as Indonesia. As you stated, we have recently re-engaged—under Minister Ng's leadership—in a comprehensive free trade agreement with India. Ministers have asked us, as we proceed along those negotiations, to consider whether we would want to implement an early harvest agreement representing what has been accomplished so far.

I think it's fair to say we're really focused on that region.

[Arif Virani, Liberal, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Thank you very much, Mr. Christie.

This next question will be for Ms. Wilshaw.

I agree completely with Mr. Hoback in terms of the TCS and what it represents in 160 locations around the planet. I think these are definitely unsung heroes in terms of the work we're doing abroad, both promoting Canadian interests in locations outside of Canada and also promoting foreign direct investment here in Canada.

On my recent trip to Zambia and South Africa, I was actually quite taken with the incredible trade commissioner service. They were directly providing me with briefings on sub-Saharan African countries in which we are engaged.

Thank you for the work you're doing, Ms. Wilshaw, and thank you to all of the teams of trade commissioners around the planet.

I want to ask you specifically about something we championed in sub-Saharan Africa, which I know is something championed by the Prime Minister and by Minister Ng, and that is the role of women entrepreneurs, domestically and abroad. Can you give us a bit more detail with respect to the trade commissioner service and the work you're doing to promote entrepreneurial opportunities Canadian women-owned businesses abroad?