Evidence of meeting #96 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 ecuador.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Chandra Arya Liberal Nepean, ON
Again, the Latin American and African countries—for the African countries, we don't have anything concrete yet—are the economies, the countries and the regions that are growing in population. They are where agricultural produce, especially, from Canada is very much needed. We need the doors to be open for Canadian businesses, so that they can go and market our produce.
Mr. Roy and Mr. English can quickly chime in, please.
Chair, Canadian Pork Council
I'm not sure I got the question, though. Is it about Africa?
Liberal
Chandra Arya Liberal Nepean, ON
It's about the growing markets in terms of the economies and in terms of the population—
Liberal
Chair, Canadian Pork Council
I'm sorry. Yes, for the growing market, they are important markets. We should seize the opportunity when it is available; otherwise, other countries will take our place.
Liberal
Chandra Arya Liberal Nepean, ON
Mr. English, do you agree with the importance of having a trade agreement with Ecuador?
Vice President, Marketing and Communications, Pulse Canada
Yes. As I mentioned, any signal to the world that we're open for business is a positive one in our books.
Liberal
Chandra Arya Liberal Nepean, ON
Going back to this and having a trade agreement with Ecuador, will it help you guys go after the other markets in South America and the region as a whole?
Mr. Roy, you can start. Mr. English, you can finish.
Chair, Canadian Pork Council
Yes, it helps, because it also provides the types of products that are desirable for the whole region. There tends to be a regional taste, and we can tailor-make the product according to their new need.
Vice President, Marketing and Communications, Pulse Canada
We would be in the same boat, yes.
Liberal
Chandra Arya Liberal Nepean, ON
Okay.
The other benefit is that once we have a free trade agreement, if any disputes arise between the exporters and the recipients, we will have a formal mechanism to get them resolved. That is the additional benefit of having a free trade agreement, whether the market is big or small.
Many Canadian exporters are small, so even for the smallest export, if they have a mechanism whereby disputes can be resolved, it is always good for Canadian businesses. Is that correct?
Conservative
The Vice-Chair Conservative Kyle Seeback
I gave you an inch and you took a mile, so you are over your time.
We're now going to go to Mr. Cannings for two minutes.
NDP
Richard Cannings NDP South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC
Okay. Thank you. I'll be quick.
I'm going to turn to Monsieur Roy. You mentioned that you opposed the acceptance of the U.K. going into the CPTPP, based on the situation with non-tariff barriers, I believe. I'm going to give you a minute or a minute and a half to explain how we can fix this in the future.
Are there any models out there with other free trade agreements anywhere in the world, where these non-tariff barriers seem to be designed to be intractable?
Saying we'll do it with science...we've been trying that. What's your solution?
Chair, Canadian Pork Council
In the case of CETA, it's much more a matter of implementing what is in place. There must be a political will on both sides for trade. A free trade agreement is not enough. Of course, having a mechanism will help, but it also requires a willingness.
Right now, the U.K. government is not demonstrating a willingness to let agricultural products, especially pork, enter its territory, even though it wants to send its product here.
Conservative
The Vice-Chair Conservative Kyle Seeback
I apologize. I should have gone to Mr. Savard-Tremblay first.
Monsieur Savard-Tremblay, please go ahead for two minutes.
Bloc
Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay Bloc Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Chiasson-LeBel, I would like to ask you one last question.
Amnesty International and a number of other non-governmental organizations, or NGOs, have also said that we need to ensure due diligence on human rights and the environment within companies, through a legal framework that would be provided in our domestic legislation.
There is also talk of access to remedies for rights violations by Canadian companies operating in Ecuador, in particular, but this could happen anywhere else in the world.
Do you think the current legislation is sufficient to ensure that due diligence?
Assistant Professor, Université de l'Ontario français, As an Individual
No, I don't think so.
We've seen a number of attempts to violate indigenous rights in Ecuador. In reading Ecuadorian newspapers, I saw that there was a complaint and that indigenous organizations from Ecuador went to the trouble of coming to British Columbia to complain against a company that allegedly misinformed its shareholders.
Indigenous peoples must take highly circuitous routes to have their voices heard when they feel wronged by Canadian companies.
In my opinion, we really need to rethink the mechanisms in place in order to solidify the ability of the Canadian state to contribute to the protection of human rights around the world, particularly with regard to our own multinationals.
Bloc
Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay Bloc Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC
I imagine you must share my impression or observation that the current ombudsman does not have a lot of powers.
Is that correct?
Can you give me a 30-second answer?
Assistant Professor, Université de l'Ontario français, As an Individual
I think we need to go further. It's certainly a good first step, but it's probably not enough.
Conservative
The Vice-Chair Conservative Kyle Seeback
I want to thank all the witnesses for being here today. Thank you very much for the valuable testimony you gave the committee to consider.
We will suspend briefly to prepare for the next panel.
Conservative
The Vice-Chair Conservative Kyle Seeback
Welcome back, everyone.
For our second panel today, we have with us two people from the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development: His Excellency Stephen Potter, ambassador of Canada to Ecuador, and Dean Foster, director of trade policy and negotiations. Welcome.
Welcome, Ambassador. I invite you to make an opening statement for...it says up to five minutes, but if you need a little more time, that's fine as well.