Evidence of meeting #12 for International Trade in the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was brand.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Jacob Mantle Conservative York—Durham, ON
How about making our capital gains tax system more incentivizing for Canadians who choose to invest back in Canada rather than taking their money outside of Canada?
Conservative
Jacob Mantle Conservative York—Durham, ON
Thank you.
In that article, you went on to talk about economic reconciliation with first nations as well. Speaking of the potential hypothetical fund in Canada, you said, “This fund should also reflect true reconciliation in action....not just consultation, but Indigenous participation in its design, governance, and benefit-sharing.”
I have two proposals on that.
First, do you think that allowing first nations to keep some of the tax revenue generated from those projects is a good idea?
Investor, As an Individual
I can't really speak to the mechanics of how that sharing would work. I think that would be a complex negotiation that could have many different outcomes. The notion of what we're talking about I agree with.
Conservative
Jacob Mantle Conservative York—Durham, ON
Yes.
How about equity ownership, potentially, as a concept in those major projects?
Investor, As an Individual
Yes, the same. Again, there are different ways to think about this. Those things would be part of the negotiation. The intention of what we're talking about I would agree with.
Conservative
Jacob Mantle Conservative York—Durham, ON
Thank you.
Would it surprise you to know that each of the proposals I just walked you through were made by the Conservative Party over the last six months?
Investor, As an Individual
No, it wouldn't surprise me. I think a good idea can come from anywhere. As long as it's a good idea that will help Canadians and as long as it will be the right thing to move our country forward, I don't really think about it from a political party perspective. I think about what's right for our country and what's right for Canadians.
Conservative
Jacob Mantle Conservative York—Durham, ON
Absolutely. I couldn't agree more.
I thank you for your comments on some of the proposals we've been trying to put forward through our leadership and in the last election.
I think I have 15 seconds left, but that's all I had.
Thank you very much, Ms. Dickinson.
Liberal
Liberal
Linda Lapointe Liberal Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
Welcome to all the witnesses.
Ms. Fortin LeFaivre, I have here a document on the Canadian Chamber of Commerce budget. On international trade—I'm skipping over the beginning—you said the following: “Supporting Canada’s ground game abroad will be essential to the success of many of this Budget’s trade investments. The Canadian Chamber stands ready to activate its network and play its part in growing Canada’s international trade muscle.”
Earlier, my colleague asked you a question. You talked about the importance of fact-based program assessment.
I have another question on that. Do we need to raise awareness of these programs?
Senior Vice President, International Policy and Global Partnerships, Canadian Chamber of Commerce
Yes, absolutely.
Programs run by government agencies already exist. In this regard, we work closely with the government. There could be other programs and further opportunities.
Take the case of small businesses that used to do business exclusively with the United States. They may be wondering where they can go and who can help them now. This is the kind of thing we would like to focus on to help SMEs.
In addition, we've set up our own trade missions. The government also has its own with Team Canada, which has been very successful. There is potential to do more.
Indeed, we know that for many countries, it's not just about transactions. Relationships must also be built, and that takes time. To do so, face-to-face meetings are necessary; virtual meetings are not enough. We really need to give businesses the opportunity to build networks through trade missions organized in strategic locations.
Although we must be cautious, financially, there is potential to do more, particularly in Europe, Mexico and the Indo-Pacific. Many countries want to do business with us.
Next week, I will be travelling to Mexico. Many groups in that country want to work more with Canada and would like to know where to begin.
I believe we have work to do, but we are on the right track.
Liberal
Linda Lapointe Liberal Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
Thank you.
Speaking of trade missions, Ms. Dickinson. Earlier, you said that many countries are unfamiliar with our products and that we need to raise awareness of them. You mentioned that you had participated in a trade mission to Thailand and another country. Countries with larger population growth are not really familiar with all the products we can make in Canada, particularly in the agriculture and agri-processing sector.
How could we promote our products even more?
Investor, As an Individual
I think there are two things that could happen.
The first is we need to ensure that there is an awareness of the brand and what the brand stands for. That means marketing ourselves more effectively and making sure that people understand what products we do have to sell.
The second thing is matching the market demand with our supply. In other words, it's making sure that we're selling into markets that actually want what we have to sell and being effective in terms of marketing directly to them.
I think matching up supply and demand is actually really important in this aspect. Then it is talking about Canada in a way that underlines the trust, the transparency, the efficacy and the skill set—all the things that I spoke about earlier in terms of what Canadian agri-food has to offer. The high protein, the chickpeas, the lentils, the fava beans and all of these things that are being turned into products are what the world is looking for.
Liberal
Linda Lapointe Liberal Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC
Mr. Dutil, you piqued my curiosity earlier. I have a number of questions for you.
What is the lifespan of a tractor-trailer? What proportion of your tractor-trailers are sold in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico?
You mentioned that you had 1,200 employees, and you also talked about immigration.
How many employees are you lacking?
Is it easier to find employees in the United States or in Canada?
President and Chief Executive Officer, Manac Inc.
Trust me, I'll try.
The lifespan of a van depends on the seller. If it's Manac, it will be a little longer. Usually, the useful life of a van varies between 12 and 15 years for long-haul transport. You can add seven or eight years to that for regional transport or local storage.
In terms of labour, at a summit held in early 2023, we had nearly 200 temporary foreign workers. They're called “foreign workers,” but that's a mistake. They should be referred to as “workers of foreign origin.” When employees have been working with us for seven or eight years, they are no longer foreigners. They come from elsewhere, but they are Quebeckers like us.
There are no Hispanic ghettos outside the major metropolitan areas. In Beauce, everyone speaks French. In Saguenay, everyone speaks French. In Barrie, Ontario, everyone speaks English.
In terms of our sales, we export about 12% of our production from Canada to the United States. Eighty per cent of what we produce in the United States stays in the American market, and about 20% of our production goes up to Canada.
What we sell in Mexico is negligible. The load standards in Mexico are a little different. The cost of local manufacturing in Mexico—
Liberal
President and Chief Executive Officer, Manac Inc.
I think I got to three out of your four questions.
Liberal
Bloc
Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay Bloc Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot—Acton, QC
I still have a question for Ms. Fortin and Mr. Kongtsa from the Chamber of Commerce.
Are you worried the United States could use what we call the renegotiation clause to make it an annual review? In other words, are you worried this will be a kind of permanent political lever and permanent pressure?
How, in your opinion, can we protect ourselves against this eternal cycle of uncertainty?
Senior Vice President, International Policy and Global Partnerships, Canadian Chamber of Commerce
I will let Mr. Kongtsa answer that question.
Director, International Policy, Canadian Chamber of Commerce
That is one possible scenario, I think, moving forward. Our ideal outcome moving forward with the review is a relatively straightforward review discussion. It's more likely that we'll have a renegotiation that will probably be quite contentious.
Another possibility is that we won't have a renewal in 2026 and instead we'll move into annual reviews, as you said. From an industry standpoint, there is really no one who is in favour of that. Our partners in the United States and Mexico and our members here in Canada are all in consensus that annual reviews would be hugely destabilizing and would create a great deal of risk. Moving into the review, I think it's incumbent on all three parties to try to avoid that. It's not in anyone's interest.
From a business standpoint, one way to potentially move us in the direction of a more productive outcome is to focus on where the business communities of the three countries can work together. That's what we've sought to do in our recommendations; it's to advance straightforward, constructive paths forward and solutions for problems that all three countries face.
Bloc
Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay Bloc Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot—Acton, QC
Finally, if I understood correctly, you are talking about a way to keep up a kind of ongoing dialogue, to the extent that you don’t expect it to be a one-time event, but rather an annual event.
Might there still be some opportunities in that respect? Might there still be certain opportunities to take that road? From what I understand, even if you say that none of your members are in favour, if we improve the dialogue, it could lead to certain positive effects, in spite of it all.
