Chrystia Freeland

[Ministerial Expenses, May 3rd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, once again, the Conservatives are trying to create a story where there is none. It is my job to promote Canada in the United States.

In fact, just yesterday, I was pleased to be in Washington for a trilateral trade meeting with my American and Mexican counterparts. It was my sixth visit to the United States in six months. What I am hearing in the U.S. is that after a lost decade, Canada is finally back at the table.

I am going to keep going back and doing what the Conservatives failed to do: support trade, jobs, and our middle class.

[Questions on the Order Paper, May 3rd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, in response to (a), the softwood lumber agreement has been in focus since the Minister of International Trade assumed office on November 4, 2015.

Negotiations and discussions between officials from Global Affairs Canada and officials from the Office of the United States Trade Representative have taken place on a routine basis. The Minister of International Trade regularly raises this issue with her counterparts in the United States and, in conjunction with her parliamentary secretary, continues to consult widely with domestic stakeholders, including industry representatives and provincial governments, in order to ensure an outcome is achieved that will benefit all of Canada.

During the March 10, 2016, state visit to Washington, D.C., the Prime Minister and the U.S. President publicly expressed their interest in a long-term agreement. Both leaders tasked their ministers to intensively explore all options and report back in 100 days on the key features that would address the softwood lumber issue.

In response to (b), discussions include regular phone calls and in-person meetings. In addition to bilateral meetings held in Washington, D.C., the minister has also had bilateral meetings and discussed the issue with her U.S. counterparts while in Davos, Switzerland, and Nairobi, Kenya.

In response to (c), various staff and officials in the Ministry of International Trade have been involved in the file, including: the Minister of International Trade; Christine Hogan, deputy minister of international trade; Kirsten Hillman, acting assistant deputy minister, trade agreements and negotiations branch; Martin Moen, director general, North America and investment bureau; Aaron Fowler, director, softwood lumber division; Gilles Gauthier, minister, economic affairs, Embassy of Canada to the United States of America; Colin Bird, minister-counsellor, trade and economic policy, Embassy of Canada to the United States of America; Michael Owen, senior counsel and deputy director, investment and services law division; Alexander Monchez, senior trade policy officer, softwood lumber division; and Zachary Archambault, senior trade policy officer, softwood lumber division.

In processing parliamentary returns, the government applies the Privacy Act and the principles set out in the Access to Information Act, and certain information concerning the names of foreign delegates has been withheld on the grounds that the information constitutes personal information or would be injurious to the conduct of international affairs.

[International Trade, April 19th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, we said during the election what we say today.

Our party understands, profoundly, that Canada is a trading nation. We also understand that with a trade deal as significant as the trans-Pacific partnership, we have a duty to consult broadly with Canadians. In fact, the trade committee is currently in British Columbia consulting.

As for consultations with farmers, I have personally held many in Alberta, and I do consult often with the farming community, including my own father, who is—

[Ministerial Expenses, April 19th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, once again, the Conservatives are trying to concoct a story where there is none. It is my job to promote Canada around the world, and I am proud of that. Following the APEC summit in the Philippines, I was proud to go to California for a trade visit. As everyone knows, California is one of our largest trading partners.

I repeat: the Conservatives' accusations are wrong, and all the rules were followed.

[Ministerial Expenses, April 19th, 2016]

As I have said, Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are trying to concoct a story where there is none. Whether it is interviews with The Washington Post editorial board, the LA Times, BBC, or the many media interviews I did with German newspapers and with Bloomberg promoting CETA in Berlin last week, it is my proud job to promote Canada to the world.

Unlike the Conservatives, our open and transparent government speaks to the media, including international media. The Conservatives did everything possible to insult the media. We are doing things differently.

[Ministerial Expenses, April 19th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I have already answered that question, but since the members opposite are so interested in my promotion of Canada in California, let me talk about some of the meetings I held.

I met with U.S. Senator Angus King of Maine. I met with the Lieutenant Governor of California, Gavin Newsom. I met with Jim Haney, who is the senior VP and GM of City National Bank, recently acquired by RBC. I met with Greg Foster, the CEO of IMAX, a great Canadian company active in California.

I met with Creative BC and Trade and Invest B.C. I met with John Chiang, the treasurer of California. I met with Jeff Gorell, the deputy mayor of Los Angeles. There is more, but I have run out of time.

[Ministerial Expenses, April 19th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, unlike the Conservatives, who do not really like the media, I know it is my job to promote Canada to the world.

In California, I appeared in the media with U.S. Senator Angus King of Maine and with Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom of California. I also spoke to the LA Times, which wrote a column about our economic policy, and I very proudly defended Canada's support for Syrian refugees, something I will do again and again.

[Ministerial Expenses, April 19th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, once again the Conservatives are trying to concoct a story where there is none.

It is my job to promote Canada and Canadian business around the world. Following the APEC summit in the Philippines, I was proud to visit California, one of our largest trading partners, larger than Japan, Germany, or the U.K., where I held six business round tables.

The Conservatives' accusations are absolutely wrong. All of our expenses were clearly posted months before this was raised.

[International Trade, April 12th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, as the daughter of a farmer, I am proud of the support by our government for farmers. That has been manifested in our success with getting the discriminatory COOL legislation repealed, which is something that the previous government opposite failed to do.

Our commitment to free trade is manifested in our hard work on CETA, which legal scrub we have completed. Again, that is something the party opposite failed to do.

We are consulting on TPP, and that is the right thing to do as well.

[International Trade, April 12th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, unlike the NDP that condemns this deal without even reading it, we are keeping our election promise. We promised to consult, and we are.

I would also like to point out that we learned something interesting about the New Democrats on Sunday. We learned they want to shut down our natural resource industry and we learned they want to say no to Canada trading in the world.

That is not good for Canada's middle class, including the union members the hon. member claims to represent.