International Trade Committee on June 1st, 2023

[Chandra Arya, Liberal, Nepean, ON]

Quickly, I would like to take a comment on the number of free trade agreements we have been signing across the world. I think we have free trade agreements with 51 countries.

Coming to your opinion that the private sector decides, there's only one sector in the Canadian economy that aggressively goes after every single trade agreement and tries to leverage it for export. It's the Canadian agricultural sector, the small group of farmers who have made Canada the fifth-largest exporter of agri-food and grains.

However, I am not seeing it in many other industrial sectors. I slightly disagree with you that the private sector decides where to export and how to export. Some of them have just become the branch office of foreign multinational companies and are not doing anything at all.

[Carlo Dade]

They've made the decision to go to the U.S. market and not to go to other markets, despite our signing trade agreements. I would say that is an exercise of choice.

Also, the oil and gas industry and the mining industry are global players. Agricultural equipment manufacturers are global leaders. The Prairies have some global-beating companies in making headers, seeders and other things that simply fly under the radar. I would argue that, depending on the sector and the complementarity with the markets, we've actually done well.

However, the private sector exercises choice. You have this big, fat, easy U.S. market, or you could go to Honduras where we just signed a trade agreement and work five times as hard for half the money and triple the risk.

I would argue that it's the private sector exercising choice in going to the U.S.

[Chandra Arya, Liberal, Nepean, ON]

How could—

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much. You have 20 seconds.

[Chandra Arya, Liberal, Nepean, ON]

I have to say that I agree with you on the way that Canadian mining industries have gone outside the comfort zone of North America for decades together and developed the mining industry worldwide. It's really exemplary.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much, Mr. Arya.

Thank you very much to the witnesses. We appreciate the valuable information that you've given us on our study.

I will excuse the witnesses.

We will go in camera for a bit of committee business at this time.

Could the witnesses exit the room, please? Thank you.

[Proceedings continue in camera]