International Trade Committee on Feb. 7th, 2022

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

Except Saskatchewan and Quebec.

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

—in support of our businesses exporting all around the world.

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

Thank you.

Last year, at a different committee, I asked you about the CUSMA deal. In particular, there's a part of the deal that allows for the different countries to source up to 75% of lithium regionally tariff free, with the main purpose specifically for developing an EV battery market. At that point in time, between yourself and the department officials, there seemed to be a lack of awareness about this provision.

Has anything been done since then to address this, and do you think we'll be able to meet that window? That window is closing within a little over a year.

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

Our commitment is to develop an industry here that helps our auto sector continue to be as integrated as it is so that our businesses in the auto sector and their workers continue to be prosperous as we fight climate change and build electric vehicles into the future.

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

Thank you.

What's being done by the government to at least attempt to hit this process? At the end of the day, if we're going to have to start paying tariffs on lithium when we have the full-on resources here, everything we need to have the industry here but have zero production at this point in time....

We're over a year into this deal and we knew this was there, but we're doing nothing about it. I just want to know, and I'm concerned, whether Canadians—or the government—are doing everything they can to try to develop this. Are you actively advocating internally for that?

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

We're always actively advocating, not only advocating but putting funding into our budget to ensure that we develop industries, particularly industries around critical minerals, that will enable us to create an economy that is green, and particularly industries around critical minerals and electric vehicles that support that growth into the future.

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

What about red tape reduction to try to help hit these targets?

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

Making things easier for our businesses is something that I feel is very important. I work with small businesses all the time. I work with women entrepreneurs all the time and Black entrepreneurs all the time, making sure that our work is supportive of their ability to take advantage of our programs in a way that's easy for them to not only start up, but to scale up and grow and access international markets. That is something that is a top priority for me every day.

[Jeremy Patzer, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

Lastly, I have to circle back to the country-of-origin labelling, which was brought up earlier, because that's something that's going to be hanging over our heads. It has been quite the process to defend against that in the past. I would like some reassurances and to know that this is something that is actively on your radar and your ministry is going to be doing everything you can to defend against that.

If we take the same approach as we did with BSE and you miss the targets, we end up having to operate under those restrictions, as we did for a long time. What are you doing to make sure that we don't get hit with country-of-origin labelling once again in Canada?

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Minister, please give a brief answer.

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

We've always defended and I've been clear that we stand against it.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much.

We'll go on to Mr. Sheehan.

[Terry Sheehan, Liberal, Sault Ste. Marie, ON]

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

Thank you very much, Minister, for appearing here today on this very important study that we have undertaken. I moved this, with the support of all the committee, to go hand in glove with your efforts.

After being sworn in, you headed down to Washington and began that work in earnest. We know that Canada and the U.S have fostered the largest automotive manufacturing cluster in North America, centred around the Great Lakes region, which the Soo is part of. Ontario exports about $10 billion in auto parts each year to Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio alone.

There is clearly a need for that reciprocal relationship to continue, especially when we have all these shared, common goals of having more electric vehicles on the road and ensuring that our citizens can actually afford them. We all support incentives towards that goal, but why discriminate against Canada's industry when we have been making autos together for 100 years? A lot of people are asking that.

What is the American response that you have gotten, right from the beginning, on their attack on our deeply integrated supply chains and historical partnerships, especially when we know that this will be a counterproductive approach that will in fact disrupt the production even more and reduce their accessibility for the middle class?

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

Thank you for the terrific work in getting me here to the committee.

But seriously for a second, Canada is really supportive of the global efforts for a more sustainable future. Our budgets have the investments for this. The commitment this government has taken to fight climate change is demonstrable and real. We're committed to 100% of new automobile sales to be zero-emissions vehicles by 2035.

You rightfully pointed out the supply chain—that is the automotive supply chain. There's a lot of integration and there are a lot of interconnected supply chains between Canada and the United States, but nothing says it more than automobiles. Deliberately, we've put policies in place for the last 50 years to make sure we are encouraging this Canada-U.S. competitiveness, and now a North American competitiveness, in the supply chain around autos.

We all want to create opportunities where we can help this transition to a cleaner and greener future. Indeed, we also have incentives here in Canada to encourage the purchasing of EVs. In fact, those incentives support Canadians who buy U.S.-made EVs and support U.S. manufacturing jobs.

You're absolutely right. This is the point we're making to the Americans. Canadian-assembled vehicles are U.S. cars. They contain approximately 50% of U.S. content. Canada is also the biggest exporter to the U.S. of vehicles. We are requiring 100% of our cars and our passenger trucks in Canada to be zero-emissions vehicles.

Much of what you have just said and much of what I have just said is essentially the advocacy to the Americans. The road map between Canada and the U.S. to tackle climate change, but also to recover from COVID-19 and to support trade between our two countries, will include this very important sector, automotive trade, which, by the way, is remarkably balanced. Fifty per cent of this trade flows from the U.S. to Canada, and the other 50% flows the other way. The other thing I would say is that Canadian intermediate exports also keep U.S. production open.

There are a lot of wins here, and there's a lot of alignment. This is the advocacy we are making to the United States. It has been productive, i would say, across the board, but we've made it clear that what is there at present is not in keeping with CUSMA or the WTO, and it's not actually in their interest economically either.

This work will continue. We'll do it as team Canada. It will be government to government, but it will also be the provinces and territories. It will also be industry. It will also be unions, binational unions. We're all going to do this.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much, Minister. I don't mean to cut you off. You were generous to give us an extra couple of minutes to try to give everybody an opportunity.

Mr. Hoback.

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

I think we have a few more members who would like to have an opportunity to question the minister. Would she be willing to stay another 20 minutes so that they would get an opportunity to talk directly to her?

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

The minister had agreed to be here with her officials for the hour. Her officials will be remaining for the second hour. That was the arrangement initially.

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

Is she willing to stay? I'm just asking the question. If she can't, she can't.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Minister, the request is that you stay a bit longer. It's up to you, though.

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

Madam Chair, I don't think that's properly a point of order.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

I think it's just a question.

Mr. Hoback has asked if you could stay longer. It was clear at the beginning we had one hour with you and the remaining hour with the officials. I don't see anything suggesting that's going to change.

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

My officials will be here. I have a commitment with some important.... All of you are important, but so are these industry folks I committed to getting into a meeting with four minutes ago.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much, Minister. I appreciated the extra time.

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

Thanks so much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

We'll go on to Mr. Lewis for five minutes, please.