International Trade Committee on Oct. 28th, 2022

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls, ON]

Minister, does the government favour extending the current trade-compliant program that currently exists? Again, it ends shortly. It's only for two years. The government committed $166 million to that two years, but again, it showed $390 million in revenue over five years. I would think that the revenue that the government is now taking from this tax should be returned to both the industry and our grape growers.

I mean, the program exists. They're just looking for the certainty to see whether or not that program will be extended.

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

Yes, for sure trade compliance is one part of the equation. The other part of the equation is that I work on this file with my agriculture colleague. I also work with my finance colleague. I tout the importance of working across government in a whole-of-government way, and this file is a perfect example.

I think we've been able to do that quite well in listening to the stakeholders and working with you. Your voice in this issue has been really important, along with those of others who represent the stakeholders as well as the region and other wine growers across the country.

I want to assure you that the industry is an important one and that we'll keep working with you and with them, but I also have to work—and I will—with my colleagues in agriculture and in finance.

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls, ON]

Minister, earlier you indicated the beginning of negotiations on a Canada-U.K. trade agreement. We see some of the challenges with the dispute resolution function. Ambassador Theodore mentioned the other day the multi-party interim appeal arbitration arrangement that exists, and Canada is one of those 19 countries. It indicates that the EU was part of that, but is the U.K. seeking to be part of that program? When we do a negotiation with the U.K., our fourth-largest trading partner, will we be building a dispute settlement process into that agreement?

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

I think having a dispute settlement process in any trade agreement is an important and necessary thing. I mean, you negotiate these agreements. By and large, they all work pretty well most of the time, but sometimes they need some interpretation, so they need a dispute settlement process to make sure the trade agreement is working well.

The MPIA was very much an innovation of the Ottawa Group. It was born out of the Ottawa Group. When the appellate body ceased to work at the WTO, it was born out of that. We're very proud that we were able to bring along a number of countries to the MPIA.

I can't remember specifically if I talked to the United Kingdom about it, but likely I probably did, because I often talk to everybody. In the meantime, until such time that we as a WTO body are working on a permanent reform to the dispute settlement system, let's use this MPIA, because it's a temporary solution that is mirrored after the present system. More of us using it gives predictability in the trading system while the more permanent solution is being worked out at the WTO.

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls, ON]

The Americans aren't part of that system. It would be advantageous to us to have the U.K. as part of it, although they're leaving the European Union program, are they not?

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you, Mr. Baldinelli. You squeezed in an extra minute. Thank you very much.

We have Ms. Dhillon, please, for five minutes.

[Anju Dhillon, Liberal, Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Minister, for being here today. I'm very happy to have you here.

Something you've been talking about recently and today in your remarks is the growing of an inclusive economy. Recently you made an announcement in Winnipeg about the women entrepreneurship loan fund, which is providing much-needed capital to women business owners in Quebec and across Canada. Could you please tell us how what you are doing domestically connects with trade?

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

How did you know that would be my favourite question to answer?

Women in trade—women entrepreneurs, period—are the smartest thing that we could be doing. We are 50% of the population. I've used this sports analogy before: If you are going to train up a wonderful team to win at your sport, you sure the heck don't want 50% of that team sitting on the bench. Why would we want 50% of the women sitting on the bench?

Our first-ever women's entrepreneurship strategy is a $6-billion investment to help women entrepreneurs start their businesses and scale and grow their businesses to access the international market.

I often tell people not to worry about the title on my business card; I'm the minister for start-up, scale-up and access to new markets. For women entrepreneurs, I am there with them every step of the way to help them start and to help them grow.

What is the return on investment for the women's entrepreneurship strategy? It's $150 billion in Canada. We have invested $6 billion and we can return $150 billion to the Canadian economy simply by adding women to the economy. I tell my international colleagues that it's $12 trillion to the global economy by adding women to the economy.

The women's entrepreneurship strategy has three parts. One is getting access to capital. We hear a lot about that from all small businesses, but women-owned businesses in particular face those difficulties. Mentorship and having an ecosystem of support is what they're looking for, and then we need to be able to track this stuff and make sure there is good data.

I'm really pleased to say that although we've only had the women's entrepreneurship ecosystem in place since 2019, it has already helped 5,000 new women-owned businesses start and helped 7,000 existing women-owned businesses grow their existing business.

I'll highlight one of the ecosystem partners in particular, the Asia Pacific Foundation. They've been doing these really terrific women-led trade missions. They've done one to Japan in person. They've done them to Taiwan, India, Australia and New Zealand, and South Korea, and they're heading back to Japan in December. They're women-led trade missions to look for opportunities in those particular markets so that these businesses can grow. We're seeing some terrific collaborations in those markets.

We're also seeing really excellent opportunities for collaborations because there isn't a single place that I have been to where I don't convene a round table of women-led businesses. This includes France, Sweden, Africa, Thailand, the Philippines, Cambodia, Indonesia, Singapore, the CARICOMs and so forth.

It is dynamic. You are seeing these incredible female businesses of all sizes, and they're growing their businesses. What we're trying to do here is create those connections between Canadian businesses that want to grow into those markets and collaborate and co-invest for growth. I think it is the smartest thing that we could be doing.

The business women in international trade program is growing. The support that EDC is providing to women entrepreneurs is growing and the support that BDC is providing is growing, but I would say that economic policies alone are not going to do it. You need to have affordable child care, because women need to work, and when they work, they need support for child care.

Parental leave is a game-changer. When I was in Israel, I remember the women entrepreneurs asking me, “Are you kidding? Are you telling me that if I were in Canada, I can keep working and my partner or spouse can take the 18 months?” I said, “You've got it.” That is a game-changer.

I think smart, whole-of-government policies to support the growth of businesses are exactly what we have been doing since 2015. You sit around the table at the women's caucus and you talk to me about this all the time, but I want to thank everyone because this work is all of our work.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much.

We'll go on to Mr. Savard-Tremblay for two and a half minutes.

[Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Minister, we know that discussions took place with the ASEAN countries, including Indonesia, and India. They are major palm oil producers, while India has committed to palm oil production.

Do you have a strategy to make sure the negative impacts of palm oil production aren't exacerbated? As we all know, palm oil production is a sector that is controlled by warlords, that contributes heavily to deforestation, that results in people being kicked off their land, and that relies on forced labour.

How do you plan to make sure the problem doesn't get worse or, at the very least, isn't reinforced under a potential trade agreement?

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

I want to thank you for that question, because it is really important.

Human rights are values that lead the way when we negotiate trade. They have to. We firmly believe that trade and environmental protection have to be mutually supportive. We know that there are high rates of forests lost, driven in part by the monocrop of oil palm plantations, and this, of course, is a concern. In all of the negotiations, we are looking at and working with solutions that have to address the wide range of global environmental issues, so we are looking for sustainable forest management and sustainable agriculture. I want to assure you that we approach these negotiations from that perspective of leading with Canadian values.

[Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

You are confirming, then, that during the third round of negotiations with Indonesia, taking place next week, Canada will be calling for stringent ethical standards when it comes to palm oil. That will be on the table next week.

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

In our conversations and negotiations, whether it is with Indonesia or any of our trading partners, I think our record is pretty clear. The “C” and the “P” in CPTPP had a lot to do with Canada, and you will remember that at the time it wasn't exactly popular. However, I met with them a couple of weeks ago in Singapore, and everyone now touts this as a high-standard agreement. It's high because of those standards for labour and those standards for the environment. Everyone understands that how we are going to trade and do business in the world has to be complementary to what we need to be doing to fight climate change. They have to go hand in hand, and that is the conversation that we bring. That is the type of discussion that is happening around those tables.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much, Minister.

We go now to Ms. Collins for two and a half minutes please.

[Laurel Collins, NDP, Victoria, BC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Minister, you have spoken a bit already about the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, the IRA. I sit on the environment committee, where we just finished hearing from witnesses for our study on clean technology. The Inflation Reduction Act kept coming up again and again, in particular on the opportunities that it presents for Canada to benefit as the world shifts towards a clean economy, but also the challenges we will face if we don't seize the opportunity and the serious impact on businesses and workers that will happen if this government lets Canada fall behind.

The IRA really reinforces that climate ambition is the best path forward for sustained job growth. Labour organizations, industry and environmental groups are all saying that Canada doesn't currently have a comprehensive industrial strategy that will ensure competitiveness and long-term clean jobs for workers in the transition. It's rare to have these diverse voices speaking as one.

What are you doing to respond to this call for a comprehensive industrial strategy for clean jobs?

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

Thank you for that.

I think that question is so important, because I don't think about my job without thinking about how we grow the green economy.

Domestically here in Canada, a tremendous array of businesses, technologies and entrepreneurs are providing solutions to the green economy. Whether it is a circular process to take plastics out of our communities and the oceans, whether it is those very innovative clean water solutions, whether it's companies like CarbonCure creating green cement, green steel and green aluminum, there isn't anything we think about today that isn't about creating a green economy that fights climate change and at the same time grows jobs.

I would say that we very much have a green industrial strategy. We've had one since 2015. We put a price on pollution. The companies that I meet around the world are looking through their value chains and saying that they have to meet net zero, and they're looking at Canadian solutions for that—

[Laurel Collins, NDP, Victoria, BC]

But Minister—

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

I'm sorry; you have 10 seconds left.

[Laurel Collins, NDP, Victoria, BC]

I think the concern is around the IRA and the need for greater ambition at this point in response.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much.

We will go to Mr. Carrie for five minutes please.

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you, Minister.

I did want to investigate a little more about your proactive approach.

I'm from Oshawa, and in Ontario the auto industry is extremely important. I remember being in Washington with premiers when the CUSMA was being negotiated. There was a concern that the United States and Mexico were getting close to a deal and we were going to be stuck with what was left over. We did come out with a deal, but the first review is going to be in 2026. I was wondering what your government is doing proactively to prepare for this. Also, what are the efforts you are making to ensure support for the agreement and to make sure the support remains high in the U.S. and Mexico?

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

That is such a good question. It's precisely Oshawa and the carmakers, the parts makers and the workers who were top of mind in the latest round of defending the auto sector against the EV credits. All of us on the government side and, I would say, all of us working with the provinces and municipalities, particularly those around border states, have to continue doing the work we have been doing from that time you just mentioned in a team Canada advocacy so that we are always top of mind with the Americans.

My interactions are regular with the USTR, as are those of my colleagues from defence, commerce, foreign affairs, environment and natural resources. I think Minister Wilkinson was in Washington just a couple of days ago.

I think this is one area where we continue to need that team Canada approach with our industry and with our workers. I think it's a part of our DNA in terms of how we work today. It has to be.

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Thank you, Minister. You do have my support. If you have any specifics that you're doing to support the agreement, such as meetings with the U.S. and Mexico, please keep us in mind.

As of September, I think there was about a 10,000-plus FAST application backlog. It's extremely important to our truckers. There's a requirement for an in-person interview, and it must be conducted in the U.S.-based enrolment centres. There was a shortage of FAST drivers prepandemic, and it has been exacerbated by the backlog.

I was wondering if you have any update for us. Is anything being done to eliminate the backlog and ensure that more truckers can receive FAST cards? Are you working with your colleagues? Could you give us an update on that? I'm hearing a lot about it.

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

The answer is yes, we are working with the Americans. My colleagues are on this, not me directly. As these things go, all of my colleagues know that if it's going to have an impact on businesses of any size in this country, then they usually hear from me.

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

If you're able to get an update for us from your colleagues.... I know it's not directly you, but it affects the Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade agreement very significantly. Any information would be welcome, especially for those who are waiting in the backlog.