International Trade committee  Sure. It's a fairly simple process in Canada. It's much more complicated in the European Union. After we complete the negotiations and both negotiators have signed off as saying the negotiations have now ended, the first thing that happens is that it will have to be put through a process of legal scrubbing to ensure that the language we've negotiated is legally consistent throughout the agreement.

International Trade committee  Yes, absolutely, and I've been spending quite a bit of time myself with municipalities as well, with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. I keep them regularly informed on the outcome of our discussions. I've been to a number of meetings with Minister Fast to meet municipal representatives.

International Trade committee  Whenever we start discussing these types of provisions, it's clear that we need to find the right kind of balance between the rights of government to regulate.... We don't want to interfere with that. We certainly don't want to affect anything related to public services or our ability to deliver and maintain public services.

International Trade committee  It's difficult to do any kind of reliable study in that type of area, because you're basically having to ask people whether they feel more confident or less confident with having that kind of investment. Whether a company chooses to invest or not can be subject to a whole series of different questions and criteria.

International Trade committee  I think the reason to negotiate those provisions is to provide greater assurance to investors that if something goes wrong with their investment, there is an avenue they can pursue, particularly if there's been some measure taken that they see as contrary to obligations. We have that kind of dispute settlement in various other areas as well.

International Trade committee  No, I wouldn't say so. That was done for domestic reasons. Certainly it allowed us some more scope to negotiate within the CETA on the basis of some of those proposed changes, but no, I wouldn't say it was driven by the CETA or by other outside countries that may have been asking for similar things.

International Trade committee  Certainly that was the outcome of the study that was done prior to the launch of negotiations. I think, based on the extent that we've entered into areas that are perhaps more comprehensive than we'd anticipated at the beginning, and given the fact that the study was assuming that there would be an outcome at the WTO negotiations that would have diminished the impact of those numbers, my own personal view is that those estimates are probably low.

International Trade committee  I think we would have preferred to have moved somewhat faster. I think the European Union frankly would have preferred that as well. Because of the extent and the complexity of this agreement, it just takes time to grind through a lot of it. We want to make sure we get it right, obviously.

International Trade committee  I myself have been asked that question a number of times too. Why are we negotiating with the EU when it's in such significant economic difficulties right now? I think you have to take a bit of a step back and look at the bigger picture with respect to the European Union. It is made up of 27 countries.

International Trade committee  I would certainly think so, and from a number of perspectives—and Quebec has expressed an interest in this. There are a number of opportunities for further investment to attract European interest in some of those areas, to allow them to develop more effectively. We have a lot of expertise in mining and construction services.

International Trade committee  Well, just on the last part first, I'm hesitant to make specific predictions because in a negotiation you never quite know what's going to happen. You get hung up on an issue and everything changes entirely. We have been committing, as has the European Union, to completing negotiations by the end of the year.

International Trade committee  No, I wouldn't say that anything that broad in scope has come up. We have come up with a number of provisions and chapters in relation to regulatory standards. We have a regulatory cooperation chapter for the first time in a free trade agreement that will address trying to get us on the same page on standards as they're being developed—that's one element.

International Trade committee  Yes. Certainly we're aware that the EU is also talking to the U.S. about a potential new kind of trade relationship down the road. Even under that kind of framework, it would take a very long time to move in that direction if the desire was there to do that.

International Trade committee  First of all, as negotiators we're under very strict instructions not to do anything to jeopardize or threaten the integrity of the supply management system. The government has made that very clear on many occasions, and they made it clear to us directly, as negotiators. As to whether we would open any of our markets to these products, as I mentioned in response to an earlier question from Mr.

International Trade committee  I am not going to speak to future negotiations given that it is a bit beyond my role. Certainly within the CETA negotiation there will not be a threat to the system of supply management. It will remain as it remains now. Certainly I've seen no evidence of any flexibility on that issue with respect to any agreements.