International Trade Committee on Feb. 5th, 2026

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Give a brief answer, Minister.

[Maninder Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton East, ON]

The CEPA includes provisions to address global environmental challenges, including climate change, plastic pollution, biological diversity, sustainable fisheries and agriculture, and forest management. This is just one of many different aspects of this agreement. We'll continue having those conversations to encourage the protection of the environment.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much.

Mr. McKenzie, go ahead, please, for five minutes.

[David McKenzie, Conservative, Calgary Signal Hill, AB]

Thanks to the minister and all the officials who are here, quietly and patiently listening in.

Minister, I would like to know if you have any concerns about the relationship that Indonesia necessarily shares with China, given it's geographic location. What might that mean for Canada as we increase our trade relationship with Indonesia?

[Maninder Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton East, ON]

If you go back to what the Prime Minister said in Davos, we need to continue to engage as a middle power with folks all around the world. Through dialogue, you can get through many difficult conversations, and you can also unlock opportunities.

We do what's best for Canada, first and foremost. Any trade agreement we sign is in the best interest of Canadians, not what's in the best interest of what other countries are doing.

[David McKenzie, Conservative, Calgary Signal Hill, AB]

I want to turn to energy, Minister.

I'm noting a report produced by the Asia Pacific Foundation, which I think our federal government works closely with. It notes that the U.S. is increasing its relationship to export energy to Indonesia, particularly oil and liquefied petroleum gas. It strikes me that we may have missed the boat in terms of our ability to export those products into this marketplace. I'd like to know if you have had any specific conversations with our energy producers about opportunities in Indonesia.

[Maninder Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton East, ON]

Of course. I was at the LNG Canada site in Kitimat, B.C., back in July, talking to 9,000-plus workers who helped build that site. That was a milestone moment for Canada. It was a very proud moment for all of us, as it reflected our first shipment of LNG to the Indo-Pacific region. Now we have seven more LNG sites in development. LNG Canada phase two is on our major projects list. Once that project is fully built, it will be the second-largest LNG facility in the world.

As you know, I'm from Calgary. I believe in our energy sector, and we'll continue pushing that sector forward. It's a sector that represents many jobs across the country. Having a conversation with Indonesians about data centres popping up and the use of AI in terms of energy consumption.... We need to continue being there to say that we can supply their region as they grow fast. Any conversation is something that we welcome.

I know the energy minister is on this as well. Again, as we get these sites up and running, of course we want to explore opportunities for our energy exports, as that is going to have a big impact on our government's target to hit our $300 billion of non-U.S. exports.

[David McKenzie, Conservative, Calgary Signal Hill, AB]

Minister, a less proud moment in our history was the Liberal government's cancellation of the northern gateway pipeline just about 10 years ago. Had that project not been cancelled, it would have been in place today and we would have been in a position to export crude oil.

Again, I presume there's a significant market available here. My numbers indicate that Indonesia produces only about one-third of its petroleum energy needs. I wonder if you could comment on the prospects for petroleum or for crude oil, in addition to liquefied natural gas.

[Maninder Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton East, ON]

Absolutely. If you look at what we have in terms of existing capacity in our existing Trans Mountain pipeline, I think it has hundreds of thousands of barrels of capacity still left that they can ship to other markets. I know there's a conversation with the Alberta government on the MOU to do more.

The conversation with Indonesia is more on nuclear and SMRs, in terms of what they're looking for. They're looking to Canada and looking at our CANDU technology, because in Indonesia they also want to go to more sustainable energy. When they talk about sustainable, they talk about nuclear and about LNG, which is a bit lower in terms of carbon emissions when you compare it to crude.

These are active conversations that we're having. I don't shy away from any of the energy resources we have. We have a lot to offer in terms of energy, and we should be giving those opportunities and solutions to countries around the world.

[David McKenzie, Conservative, Calgary Signal Hill, AB]

Minister, you commented on the desire of the federal government to enter into more free trade agreements, generally. Again, as our vice-chair indicated previously, it's something the Conservative Party supports.

I wonder if you could give us an update on the timing of the ASEAN discussions. We're pushing into five years.

[Maninder Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton East, ON]

With ASEAN, it is close to 10 partners around the world, in the region we're working with. Indonesia is part of the ASEAN group. Vietnam is also part of that group. With Vietnam, we have access to the CPTPP trading bloc. With Indonesia, we have an FTA. The ASEAN chair this year is the Philippines. We're actively having conversations to ensure they prioritize Canada so we can get it done later this year.

At the same time, we announced the launch of negotiations with the Philippines and Thailand, which are also important ASEAN partners. When you look at the largest markets in ASEAN—Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand.... We are approaching it from different sides, through FTAs and direct bilateral agreements, but also through ASEAN, a larger trading bloc.

We haven't given up on that. We'll continue having those conversations. I'll aggressively continue to approach that, making sure that the chair, which is the Philippines this year, prioritizes Canada. They've already publicly committed to that. I think it was last month when they committed to that, so we're going to continue pursuing that agreement.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much, Minister.

Mr. Lavoie, go ahead, please, for five minutes.

[Steeve Lavoie, Liberal, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Minister, thank you for joining us again today. I know you have a very busy schedule, but it is important for us to have you here.

I know that the United Kingdom’s membership is important. It is a strategic opportunity for Canada and it strengthens trade integration. We were talking about diversification, and that is where I want to take you. In the past, I was a banker and I financed businesses. When a business lacked diversification, a red light came on in terms of financing, because we saw it as a financial risk.

Today, I would like you to paint a picture for us. I have two questions for you.

How can businesses in my riding, Beauport—Limoilou, continue to diversify their markets globally with the United Kingdom’s accession?

Why is this agreement so important for Canada?

[Maninder Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton East, ON]

That's a great question. I hope to answer you in French one day. I'm still working on my French.

Speaking of the businesses in your riding or the province of Quebec, we want to make sure we continue to encourage them to access new markets. From my time in the private sector, having spent 13 years there, I know that governments have a role to play. There's a lot of hand-holding in terms of getting businesses ready to export. I know that, under our ministry of industry, we're working on an export readiness program to get businesses export-ready. This is led by Minister Joly and, of course, Minister Valdez.

Once businesses are ready to export, there is the CanExport program, which just launched yesterday—$68.5 million for getting businesses in your riding to trade shows around the world. It provides market research assistance and legal assistance. It's a revitalized CanExport program that I encourage the businesses in your riding to apply for so they can get out to new trade shows around the world. Sometimes, for small businesses, those costs are too big to bear. You can imagine the flight costs nowadays, and getting to international markets. We want to be there to support those businesses and to showcase their services and products. Once they land their first order, we want to make sure we're there for credit facilitation through EDC, which is enabling them with about $25 billion in additional capacity to support export financing.

It's a whole ecosystem we're building up. The Prime Minister and the government have committed to increasing non-U.S. exports to the tune of $300 billion. We can't do this alone. It's not just the big companies. It's the small and mid-sized businesses that are there to support us and show their energy.

I'll come back to the CanExport program. This has provided a lot of assistance in the past. We just revitalized the program, so we're focused in terms of what markets we want to focus on. I encourage you, again, to let your community know. Let your businesses know that it just launched yesterday. They can apply online now. I look forward to seeing them on the next trade trip.

[Steeve Lavoie, Liberal, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Thank you, Minister.

We see this in many areas: Canada is currently playing a leading role on the world stage.

Why is it so important for Canada to send a clear message that it supports the United Kingdom’s accession to this agreement?

[Maninder Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton East, ON]

You're right that Canada is a world leader. We're seen as a reliable, stable trading partner. These are the conversations that I've been having in many different countries around the world.

Coming back to the meetings in Switzerland at Davos, why was it important for us to be there? It's because the global CEOs of some big companies that employ millions of folks on the ground here in Canada and across the world want to hear from Canada. When they look at Canada, they look at us for certainty, reliability, but also global access.

Currently, we have 15 trade agreements with 51 countries and access to 1.5 billion consumers, but it's also about our workforce. We have the most educated workforce in the world, and that's something to be very proud of when we attract industry and companies to do more business with Canada. It's also about energy. We have affordable energy as well. When you talk about what Canada has to offer, we have a lot to offer, especially in the current climate. When you see trade headwinds, things shifting, uncertainty for businesses, they get scared. What drives away investment is not being certain, not having reliability, and Canada presents as a reliable, stable trading partner. These are the conditions we're creating in our budget. Budget 2025 brought forward many conditions in terms of tax incentives.

I know the chair is looking at me, but I'll have more to say.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

I'm just trying to accommodate all the members.

Mr. Groleau, you have five minutes, please.

[Jason Groleau, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Good morning, distinguished guests.

Minister, thank you once again for taking the time to join us.

I would like to talk about the negotiations you have conducted in the past and those that are coming up between Canada and Indonesia. I come from a rural area where agriculture is important, and when we look at the facts and figures, we get the impression that agriculture is always left behind, whether in the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between Canada and the European Union or in the context of the United Kingdom’s accession to the new agreement.

What have you included in this agreement to ensure that beef and pork producers get their share of the market?

[Maninder Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton East, ON]

It's a very good question. Madam Chair, through you, I want to thank the member for that very important question in terms of the farmers in that member's region and riding.

You spoke about beef. We have a big win for our beef producers in Canada. For the first time in many years, Indonesia has now approved the registration of two Canadian beef establishments on their list of imports from Canada. One is JBS Canada. They employ thousands of employees. The other one is True North Foods. Collectively, these processors support 3,000-plus jobs. Of course, they're processors, but for the farmers in your region, who will feed into this supply chain and then get it out to Indonesia, these are big wins for our beef farmers.

[Jason Groleau, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Every time you’ve signed an agreement, there have been non-tariff barriers. Producers have already raised their hands. Cattle must stay for at least four months, otherwise they are not available. Producers will therefore not get their share of the market. That’s the reality: other non-tariff barriers.

What do you have to say to our producers?

[Maninder Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton East, ON]

Absolutely. The FTA is about many different things, but it also gives us enforceable science-based sanitary and phytosanitary commitments within the agreement itself. It gives farmers that stability, that reliability, but it also opens an avenue for discussion should non-tariff barriers continue to come up. We can then resolve them through many different mechanisms. This agreement will allow us to have those clear conversations and enforceable science-based sanitary and phytosanitary commitments.

[Jason Groleau, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Thank you for your reply.

My colleague mentioned steel dumping in Canada, and I’m going to pick up on that. You have an opportunity to establish an important mechanism to stop dumping.

What have you put in this agreement to ensure that there will be no steel dumping in Canada?

[Maninder Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton East, ON]

When you look at it, again, we proposed and we put forward extraordinary measures to protect our steel industry. As I said to your colleague, we're in an extraordinary time with the U.S. section 232 tariffs. Coming back to steel, if you look at our steel industry, 50% of what they produce gets exported. Out of that 50%, 90% goes to the U.S. You can imagine the impacts of the U.S. tariffs on our steel companies. That's why we have to step up with these extraordinary measures, because we want to protect our industry while we get through this time.

We also have many different things in place right now with our major projects office. We're encouraging those who are constructing in Canada to use Canadian steel. The defence industry as well, we're encouraging them to use steel. If we don't have a steel industry, we won't have a defence sector or national security. We need to be able to protect our sectors. This is why we have measures in place brought forward by the finance minister, and we'll continue protecting our steel industry.

[Jason Groleau, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Thank you, Minister.

Everyone here agrees on developing new markets. However, it takes years, even decades, to see results. Right now, the issue that no one dares to address is the American tariffs on lumber and steel. We don’t hear about it anymore. It no longer seems to be your priority. Why is that? In our region, Chaudière-Appalaches, 8,000 jobs are directly linked to the lumber industry.

When will there be an agreement with the Americans on lumber?

[Maninder Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton East, ON]

Absolutely. It's a priority for Canada, for our government, and for all of us sitting around this table. We all know the facts. They're our largest trading partner. They're an important trading partner, and we'll continue having conversations with them.

At the same time, this agreement opens up opportunities for the lumber industry in Indonesia. As I said earlier in my opening statement, when the opportunities are presented.... Are there challenging times that we're going through? Absolutely, I agree with you. I've talked to many workers. I've talked to businesses on the ground. My commitment to those listening is that we'll continue to diversify our markets so they're able to send products out to different markets, other than that one market that we have. We'll continue having those conversations with a priority market. For Canada's largest trading partner, over 70% of our trade goes there.