International Trade Committee on April 14th, 2026

[The Chair (Hon. Judy A. Sgro (Humber River—Black Creek, Lib.)), Liberal, Judy Sgro]

I'm calling the meeting to order.

Welcome to meeting number 30 of the Standing Committee on International Trade.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and the motion adopted by the committee on Thursday, February 12, 2026, the committee is resuming its study of Canada's trade with North and West Africa.

Mr. Mantle, go ahead.

[Jacob Mantle, Conservative, York—Durham, ON]

Chair, I wonder if I could beg your indulgence to address a small matter of committee business at the start of the meeting. I think we have reached agreement on a notice of motion I gave orally, prior to our constituency weeks.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Could you read it to the committee please?

[Jacob Mantle, Conservative, York—Durham, ON]

The notice of motion I gave to the committee members reads as follows:

That the Standing Committee on International Trade:

1. reaffirms its steadfast support for Ukraine sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity;

2. acknowledges and supports the Government of Canada’s assistance provided to Ukraine;

3. requests that the Minister of Finance immediately and unconditionally extend the period for which remission is granted pursuant to the Ukraine goods remission order or any other instrument from goods that are imported during the period beginning June 9, 2022, and ending on June 9, 2026, to goods that are imported during the period beginning June 9, 2022, and ending on June 9, 2031;

4. requests that the Minister of Finance respond in writing to the committee's request within 15 days; and

5. directs the chair to immediately report this to the House.

To remind members, this was to extend the time for access to the Canadian market under the Ukraine goods remission order from a one-year period to a five-year period, because we have heard consistently that a one-year period is very difficult for businesses to plan around. We're simply asking the Minister of Finance to consider extending that period to something that would provide more reasonable access to Ukraine during the wartime period.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Is there any discussion on the motion?

I'm not seeing any discussion. I understand there is agreement by all of the committee.

All those in favour of the motion please raise your hands.

(Motion agreed to)

Thank you very much, Mr. Mantle.

I apologize to the witnesses for those few minutes of delay.

We have with us today, from the Senate of Canada, the Honourable Amina Gerba, senator. From Blackburn Tétreault and Associates, we have Sylvain Tétreault, international business introducer and key facilitator in the African market. That sounds very unique.

Welcome to both of you.

We'll start with five minutes of opening remarks.

Senator Gerba, you have the floor.

[Amina Gerba, Senator, Quebec (Rigaud), PSG]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Ladies and gentlemen of the committee, thank you for having me here today.

I am deeply interested in the subject of your study. I have devoted 25 years of my professional life to it, specifically to the development of markets and international trade, particularly trade between Africa and Canada.

In the context of the essential diversification of our markets, trade with African countries is imperative, as recently documented by Canada’s Africa strategy, launched in March 2025, and the Senate report titled “Canada–Africa: Seizing a Strategic Opportunity,” tabled in February 2026.

With this in mind, I would like to immediately make six recommendations related to the objectives of your study.

First, Canada must explicitly include Africa in its trade diversification strategy, state this officially and identify priority countries and sectors where Canadian companies can be competitive in the African market, including agri-food, clean energy, infrastructure, training, health, financial services, critical minerals and digital technology.

Second, it is essential to strengthen our financial tools. FinDev Canada’s capacity must be expanded, and the capacity portion allocated to Africa must be clearly defined. Export Development Canada’s risk assessment mechanisms must be reviewed to reflect African realities. Canada must create an instrument such as an investment fund dedicated to the African diaspora to complement its capital and expertise.

Third, as it does for other regions of the world, the Government of Canada must organize high-level trade missions, coordinated with the trade commissioner service, to strengthen on-the-ground efforts and send a clear political signal to our African partners.

Fourth, in support of the African priorities set out in Agenda 2063, the Canadian government must urgently undertake the preliminary work essential to potential trade contracts and agreements with countries or regional economic communities on the continent.

Fifth, Canada can play a strategic role in the development of regional value chains in Africa by promoting co-production and local processing.

Sixth, Canada’s membership in the francophonie and the Commonwealth can be a key asset in developing our economic relations with Africa. We hear many statements on this subject. I believe that the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development could conduct an in-depth analysis of the opportunities that this membership offers on the ground in Africa.

The study should also address the issue of visa processing systems, the predictability of which remains problematic. In this regard, the introduction of a visa for francophones could constitute a pragmatic and immediate step forward.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you. I would be pleased to your questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much, Madam Senator.

Monsieur Tétreault is up for five minutes, please.

[Sylvain Tétreault, International Business Introducer and Key Facilitator, African Market, BLACKBURN TÉTREAULT & ASSOCIÉS]

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

Members of the committee, please forgive me for being a bit nervous; I am not in the habit of appearing in this kind of forum. However, I'm very proud to be here this morning. If anyone knows Africa and the African business world well, it's me.

I wear two professional hats: I have been a professor at the École de technologie supérieure for nearly 31 years, and I am also a consultant. I run my own consulting firm specializing in personnel management and supervision.

Quebec and Canada weren’t big enough for me; I had an international vision. What launched me onto the international stage was the series of books I wrote with my wife, adapted for the French-speaking European world. In fact, there are two francophone communities in the world: the Quebec francophone community and the European francophone community, which is a bit more anglicized. Here, the book series is titled Gérez mieux, stressez moins, whereas in Europe, it is titled Managez mieux, stressez moins. It’s a minor adaptation.

I tried doing business in Europe, but it wasn’t a success because the bureaucracy and regulations were too cumbersome. By necessity, I got to know African partners. I immediately fell in love with Africa and Africans. I had imaged the Africa I learned about when I was very young. In school, when we were young, Africa was considered the third world. But I quickly discovered an extraordinary continent.

Over the past decade, I’ve developed a third professional role: that of a business introducer. As the chair so aptly put it, I’m a general facilitator. I’m a bit like the Tinder of the business world. I connect businesspeople, buyers and sellers. This has been my passion for 10 years, and I’ve discovered that Africa is the land of the future for the planet. Africa has it all—people and raw materials—and everything is yet to be done. I compare Africa to Quebec and Canada in the 1950s.

We share many similarities: Quebeckers—I know Quebec much better—were water carriers until 1960. In 1960, the Quiet Revolution took place: we took control of our economy and built it into what it is now. I see a very important parallel with Africa. For the past decade or so, Africa has been targeted by the three major powers—China, Russia, and the United States—because the decision was made to shut out everything European, including France. As they say, Africans may have traded six of one for half a dozen of another, but that doesn’t matter. I tried to connect Canadian businesspeople with African businesspeople, and I realized that the three major powers had already staked their claim. That’s when I told myself that, in business, you have to be imaginative and find the right approach. Everything remains to be done in Africa. I realized that Africans love Canadians and Quebeckers. Africans don’t see us as Europeans or Americans. They see us in a very distinct way, and they see us as working in collaboration with them.

Over the years, I’ve tried to connect people, but I’ve faced constraints, irritants and the power of China. China has a very strong presence in Africa. It practises a rather unique form of economic colonialism, which I might write a book about one day. So we cannot compete. Canada has its strengths and weaknesses. I have developed a business model, which you likely have in front of you. It summarizes the 2023-2024 Canada-Africa business plan. I have given myself two years to implement it.

It can by summarized by this saying: “We don’t sell fish; instead, we train people to become skilled fishermen.” This is quite unique in international trade, because in international trade, we sell fish, we sell our products, we source raw materials from Africa and then we process them. That’s what China does. China sources the timber, mines the resources and carries out the processing in its own country.

I said we were going to develop that model—a partnership model.

That’s the summary of the business model. This model succeeded because a Quebec company sold its expertise in prefabricating wooden housing structures. It’s unique because, in Africa, homes are made of cement. When we came in with this wooden housing model, it was new. Africa has everything: it has the labour force and the wood. We managed to sell a license. The business model isn’t about selling products and services. That can be done in parallel. In Quebec and Canada, we have exceptional expertise.

I’ve travelled all over the world, and I can say that Canada has everything to offer. Housing is the project of the future. Let me give you an example. In some cities, there are projects to build 20,000 housing units. Here, we have 200 units to build, and that’s exceptional.

[Sylvain Tétreault]

In conclusion, I have some recommendations to make. The business plan faces three major obstacles, and the government can resolve this issue.

The first obstacle is visas. The administrative process that African businesspeople must go through to come here for a few days is unacceptable. There is a significant administrative burden involved in obtaining a simple short-term visa for a stay of just a few days. You can’t do business if you can’t invite your partners. That is the first major constraint.

The second constraint is government programs. There is a lot of red tape and they are disconnected from reality. Let me give you an example: you have to prepare a project three months in advance to get the funding needed to travel to Africa. However, a trip to Africa is decided just a few days in advance. I’ve made six trips to Africa. Even after five trips, I hadn’t scheduled any meetings on the first day. Do you see the problem?

I’ll talk about the third constraint. The various federal departments must work together, for example, the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship and the Department of International Trade. Currently, they work in silos.

The senator said it: there’s a lot we can do, but there are obstacles. If we don’t remove these obstacles quickly, we won’t be able to do business and we’ll miss out on an opportunity.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

We still have many questions, so you will have an opportunity to reiterate some very important points. We appreciate that very much.

We are going to start with Mr. Groleau for six minutes. I'll have to be very tight with time because the clock is ticking.

[Jason Groleau, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Good morning, Madam Chair.

Greetings, honourable colleagues and guests.

Mr. Tétreault, I love your intensity.

Senator, what are the opportunities in Africa? We want to increase sales. We are ready to do so and we are seeking partners.

In your opinion, what priorities should Canada focus on in relation to Africa?

[Senator Amina Gerba]

Thank you for the question.

In fact, Canada’s priorities are actually to make Africa a priority. What does that mean? It means we must start by acknowledging that Africa is a priority and that Africa is a market. Now, when Canada enters the African market, we must recognize that it has advantages. Canada has the advantage of being a bilingual country with tremendous access to all African markets because of its two languages. Another priority is to approach it sector by sector. Canada has sectors with extensive expertise, such as the agri-food sector. Currently, Africa has to feed 1.5 billion people. In Africa, 60% of the arable land is not being farmed. We have this knowledge; we have these technologies; we have these processing mechanisms. We already have that here in Canada. In every province, we can set a goal of establishing partnerships in Africa to feed Africans and we will benefit in return, because it’s not just Africans who will benefit.

I used agri-food as an example, but Canada is already active in mining. Canada is recognized as a country with a strong mining processing sector and as a country where mining companies have a recognized approach to corporate social responsibility. This is a second sector in which we already have a presence in Africa.

I will now turn to education. You will see that, in every African country, people will say that the elites were trained by Canadians. Education and vocational training are an undeniable priority. Why? Because you cannot claim that you are in favour of development, that you want to be among the emerging nations, if you are unable to train young people. In Africa, the median age of young people is 19. We want to train them to do the important jobs. India and China have focused on training. Canada can position itself in the training sector in Africa, and in both languages. However, I would highlight French, because Africa currently accounts for 62% of the global francophone community, which is immense.

[Jason Groleau, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Thank you very much.

My next questions are for Mr. Tétreault.

I love your energy and I'm happy to meet you, Mr. Tétreault.

You mentioned the administrative burden. Do you find the Canadian government to be efficient?

I’d also like to know what the business opportunities are. You talked a lot about the resources you’d like us to prioritize.

[Sylvain Tétreault]

The administrative burden does not lie with the government, but with bureaucratic structures. I’ll give the example of Export Development Canada and the CanExport SME program. These programs are managed by a Canadian organization. These structures need to connect with business realities, with federations of chambers of commerce and employer associations, so that these programs can simplify the assistance they provide. That is the issue. It's not related to the government; the guidelines have been set. It really is the disconnect—

[Jason Groleau, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Ultimately, they need to communicate better with each other.

[Sylvain Tétreault]

Here’s what could be done: These programs could be delegated to employer federations or chambers of commerce. That way, they would be overseen by government agencies. It would make the programs far more accessible and much simpler. This support is essential. A trip to Africa costs between $15,000 and $20,000 per person. So this initial support is important.

On the other hand, we mustn’t forget the visa program—this is important to me. On four occasions, I’ve tried to organize business missions to bring Africans here. You can’t imagine what’s asked of businesspeople. They’re asked to show their bank accounts and prove their identity. It’s crazy. When I go to Africa, I have to apply for a visa, and in 15 minutes, I get a visa to go to Africa. Why does it take us 15 minutes, when it’s different for Africans? They need to come see our products. They need to come see our expertise.

What was the second question?

[Jason Groleau, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Bilingual countries have business opportunities with the francophonie, including countries in Africa. What are the main opportunities?

Please give a brief answer because I have run out of time.

[Sylvain Tétreault]

The opportunities are all there. Let’s offer our expertise. Let’s sell our expertise.

The Thetford Mines company is selling its licence. A consultant will travel to Africa and train Africans to build their own homes in their own factory, but the opportunities are there when it comes to food.

Just this morning, I was in touch with people from Senegal. They’re looking for meat, chicken—

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much, Mr. Tétreault. I have to go on to the next member. Your passion creates a lot of questions, but the committee has to have time to ask them.

Madame Lapointe.

[Linda Lapointe, Liberal, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Welcome to our witnesses and I thank them for accepting our invitation.

I was the one who moved the committee undertake this study, and I was the one who moved the motion on how to create more business ties between Africa and Canada, naturally through the francophonie.

I will start with Mr. Tétreault, to whom I could put questions for an hour.

You say you travelled frequently to Africa to try to create business ties. When Canadian companies try to enter the market, what is the most common mistake you see them make?

[Sylvain Tétreault]

You can't do international business without support. Whether you're going to China, the United States, or elsewhere, you need to be accompanied. Business practices, laws and business culture are different.

Over the past 10 years, I've spoken with hundreds of Canadian companies. They say they want nothing to do with Africa because they've had bad experiences. However, when asked whether they had been supported, their answer is no.

My advice to companies is to seek support from trade commissioners at Canadian embassies, business facilitators and local contacts where they are going. You don't go into the jungle without a guide; the world of international business is a jungle. Would you go into the jungle without a guide? That answers the question.

[Linda Lapointe, Liberal, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

You're talking specifically about the trade commissioners who support companies. Earlier, you mentioned visas and selling our expertise. In fact, the senator mentioned that as well.

Do you prioritize certain countries?

After your response, I'd like to ask the senator for her opinion.

[Sylvain Tétreault]

Yes, of course. There are countries that may not be any safer, but the government maintains a travel advisory website that provides guidance to travellers. I took part in a business mission to Togo, to name it specifically. I was asked if that country was safe. I replied that people should consult that website, which ranks levels of risk using its colour-coded system. Togo has the same colour as France, which is yellow. There may be a dozen or so countries where it would be easier to do business initially, but over time there could be a ripple effect.

All the countries along the coast, such as Côte d'Ivoire, Togo, Benin and Senegal, are somewhat more open, and their governments are, let's say, less unpredictable. There are certain countries in Africa where governments are a bit unpredictable. When doing business in Africa, there's one key player you have to consider: the government. Here, the business world is fairly distinct from the government, but over there, government plays a relatively prominent role. There are about a dozen countries where doing business would be much easier, provided that sources of friction are addressed.

[Linda Lapointe, Liberal, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Thank you.

Senator, would you like to add anything?

[Amina Gerba]

Mr. Tétreault has said almost everything, but I'd like to add something.

When you decide to do business in Africa—which I've been doing for 25 years—you need to be accompanied. The trade commissioner service needs to be strengthened. They aren't present in every country.

Take Cameroon, for example. Did you know that our trade commissioner in Cameroon represents five countries? That's too many. He doesn't have the resources and can't manage it. He represents Cameroon, Gabon, Chad, the Central African Republic and Equatorial Guinea all at once, but he doesn't have the resources. I've seen it first-hand.

I'll move on to our representation in Côte d'Ivoire. This is a country we need to take very seriously. These are countries that are moving forward and where our companies are present. Did you know that we already have nearly 150 Canadian companies operating in Africa? The government doesn't know about them. The Canadian government isn't aware that we have companies succeeding in Africa.

I've accompanied these companies. I hosted in Montreal, as part of the largest networking platform, businesspeople from Africa representing some twenty African countries. These were mainly French-speaking countries that came to attract businesses. Do you know what the visa refusal rate was? It reached 70% in some cases. Businesspeople want win-win partnerships.

Let's talk about the francophonie. Let's take a country like Senegal, for example. It's a stable country where our companies have a strong presence. Do you know how many trade commissioners we have in Senegal? We have just one to cover the entire country, despite its enormous potential. When I say we need to prioritize Africa, we must start with interdepartmental coordination.

Did you know that Canada's Africa strategy was developed within Global Affairs Canada—that is, the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development? Export Development Canada is not aware of it. FinDev Canada, which has a presence in Africa, is not aware of it either. We need coordination, and we need a real presence in French-speaking African countries.