Evidence of meeting #65 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 canola.
A recording is available from Parliament.
12:25 p.m.
Liberal
Wilson Miao Liberal Richmond Centre, BC
Thank you, Madam Chair.
I'd like to first go to Mr. Walker, online. Last fall, a technical expert from Cereals Canada went on a training mission to Africa, and I understand that was the first time this had happened since the pandemic.
What is the purpose of these training missions, and could they perhaps aid in the resolution of the non-tariff trade barriers?
12:25 p.m.
Vice-President, Markets and Trade, Cereals Canada
Yes, Cereals Canada sent a team to the African Milling School in Kenya last fall. This was the first time we had been able to do so since the pandemic, due to travel restrictions.
We regularly send folks to the African Milling School to work with customers in Africa on the best use of Canadian wheat. We find it very efficient and very useful. It's a great facility.
We take Canadian wheat from Canada and send it to the school, and then they're able to train on best practices and best uses of the product. Nigeria is our top market in Africa, along with Ghana, so we bring those people in and it's just a great way to learn and share knowledge.
12:25 p.m.
Liberal
Wilson Miao Liberal Richmond Centre, BC
Thank you.
How would you describe the overall impact of NTBs on the Canadian cereal industry's ability to access international markets?
12:25 p.m.
Vice-President, Markets and Trade, Cereals Canada
It depends. It's on a case-by-case basis, of course. What we have found, and what we know, is that sustained, persistent government-to-government engagement and industry-to-industry advocacy are the best path forward to overcoming these barriers when they arise, as well as Canada's championing of risk-based scientific assessments.
12:25 p.m.
Liberal
Wilson Miao Liberal Richmond Centre, BC
Thank you.
Next I would like to turn to Mr. Davison and Mr. Carey.
The majority of Canadian canola is exported as meal, oil and seeds, but I'd like to ask you about the advancement of canola as a biofuel. Can you provide an overview of the market and whether there are any NTBs tied specifically to biofuel exports?
12:30 p.m.
Vice-President, Stakeholder and Industry Relations, Canola Council of Canada
I'm happy to kick that off and have Dave add to it.
I guess I would make a few comments.
We're very excited about the developments that have taken place in North America—in Canada and the U.S.—recently. As you will be aware, as of this July, Canada's clean fuel regulations will come into effect. On top of that, canola was recognized as an advanced biofuel recently in the U.S. That's something that's happened over the course of many years, but with a recent favourable EPA decision in that regard....
I also don't want to leave out that we've had significant biofuel-related canola trade with the European Union for a number of years as well.
I think there are some very exciting things happening in that space. In particular, at this time, I would highlight the developments at home in Canada, and in the U.S., in terms of their implications and opportunities going forward. I would say it's a significant part of what's driven the investments, which were alluded to earlier, that are happening in places like Saskatchewan.
May 15th, 2023 / 12:30 p.m.
Vice-President, Government and Industry Relations, Canadian Canola Growers Association
Just quickly, without the biofuel market in the EU, our exports there would be almost non-existent to the European Union, given the way they treat biotechnology and crop-protection products. All of our canola that's destined for the European Union is destined for the biofuel market, so it's a very important one. However, the market access gains we've had there are as a result of their local biofuel economy, as opposed to any benefits from CETA, unfortunately.
12:30 p.m.
Liberal
Wilson Miao Liberal Richmond Centre, BC
To follow up with that, how do intellectual property rights such as patents or trademarks affect the export of Canadian canola technology or innovation due to NTBs?
Mr. Carey.
12:30 p.m.
Vice-President, Government and Industry Relations, Canadian Canola Growers Association
It really depends on what you're exporting it for. If you export canola as a seed for crushing, it could be used in any way that jurisdiction uses it, as appropriate. There is intellectual property attached to the creation of that seed variety, and that is often patented.
Our non-tariff trade barriers aren't so much an intellectual property on canola; they are more on asynchronous approvals of genetically modified events or on the use of modern crop-protection products.
My colleague Chris Davison might want to weigh in on that.
12:30 p.m.
Vice-President, Stakeholder and Industry Relations, Canola Council of Canada
I agree with that assessment 100%. A lot of NTBs are things that people often don't see or hear about. It could be a departure from international standards; it could be increased processing times; it could be stepped-up inspections where they're not warranted—all these things. A lot of them are procedural based, or other factors that are not visible to most people most of the time.
To Dave's point, while there are some that are tied to intellectual property, I would say that the vast majority are not.
12:30 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Judy Sgro
Thank you very much.
Next is Mr. Garon, please, for two and a half minutes.
12:30 p.m.
Bloc
Jean-Denis Garon Bloc Mirabel, QC
Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
My question is for Ms. Greenwood.
Ms. Greenwood, Canada is currently in free trade discussions with India and countries in Southeast Asia. Representatives from Amnesty International have appeared before this committee and highlighted the human rights violations in India, especially since Prime Minister Modi came to power.
We also heard about serious human rights violations in the Philippines and Malaysia, among other places. There is also the issue of environmental rights, including in relation to the production and export of palm oil.
Would you support the future implementation by Canada of non-trade barriers in certain circumstances, specifically to prevent the entry of merchandise that was produced unfairly and at too low cost?
12:30 p.m.
Chief Executive Officer, Canadian American Business Council
My expertise is on Canada-U.S.
What I would say is that Canada is known for its values, and it uses the tools in its tool box as it needs to in its trade agreement. With respect to India and the Philippines, I don't have a good answer for you.
12:30 p.m.
Bloc
Jean-Denis Garon Bloc Mirabel, QC
That's fine, thank you.
Would any other witnesses like to say something about this?
12:30 p.m.
Chair, Canadian Pork Council
We must ensure that the products entering Canada meet certain standards. When the two countries do not have the same standards, we say there are non-trade barriers. The standards must be spelled out in the agreements if we do not want to destabilize our industry.
It is while the agreements are being negotiated that the standards must be established, including with respect to human rights. The same thing applies for quality standards so we don't end up with dangerous products in Canada.
12:35 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Judy Sgro
Thank you very much.
Mr. Cannings, you have two and a half minutes, please.
12:35 p.m.
NDP
Richard Cannings NDP South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC
Thank you.
I'm going to turn to Ms. Greenwood to follow up on Ms. Rempel Garner's line of questioning on big data companies, AI, etc.
First, I would make the comment that some of those hard questions being asked of the big digital companies were around getting them to pay for content and to pay their taxes, just like we ask Canadian companies to do, so it was more on that fairness aspect.
That aside, on this idea that we have to move faster than the speed of government here, we have Bill C-27, which probably won't get to committee before the fall, so that's going to be moving slowly. We have a subject like AI, which is developing very quickly and a lot faster than people imagine, probably, yet it will transform our world.
How do we do that faster than the speed of government and do it with the care that it deserves?
12:35 p.m.
Chief Executive Officer, Canadian American Business Council
I'm all for hard questions, by the way. I wasn't worried about hard questions. Anyway, we can get into that.
I think the U.S. defence department is pretty good at collaborating with the private sector on certain new, innovative technologies. I also think that NASA and the Canadian Space Agency are good examples of how the government and the private sector can come together on future cutting-edge industrial developments. The real key here is for that public-private collaboration to have conversations where we're not in our separate corners but actually talk with each other.
The U.S. Department of Energy is another area where there is a fair amount of public-private collaboration. I think there are ways to do it, but you have to have the will to do it in the first instance.
12:35 p.m.
NDP
Richard Cannings NDP South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC
With the concerns that people have around privacy, data protection, etc., would they feel comfortable co-operating with the U.S. Department of Defense, for instance?
These are the questions I have.
12:35 p.m.
Chief Executive Officer, Canadian American Business Council
Privacy is incredibly important, and you have to figure out how to protect it. A lot of private sector companies have figured that out.