International Trade committee  Lack of alignment with jurisdictions along economic corridors has been an issue. There has been improvement. The prairie provinces— Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta—have signed a memorandum of understanding to do what's called for in the national planning: co-operate on data collection, co-operate on analysis and co-operate on joint planning.

International Trade committee  The government is conducting a review of the NTCF, the corridors fund. That review certainly can go a long way to correcting issues, but it has to be, again, part of a move to national planning. These are systemic issues. Unless you engage in a long-term, permanent systemic response, you're going to have suboptimal outcomes.

International Trade committee  I have two quick notes. On the port study, it's a really complex undertaking, what S&P; and the World Bank have done, and you really need to have an in-depth explanation. The rankings are somewhat nuanced. In terms of the response, interestingly, when Australia first got the World Bank report, they approached S&P; and the consultant, engaged them and produced a study, working with them, on how to address issues found.

International Trade committee  That work would have to be done in terms of a deeper analysis of the ports. The World Bank and Standard & Poor's study has microdata at the port that you can use to make a judgment in that regard. I would say, though, that the larger issues are systemic. When you look at the fall and rankings for Vancouver, you see that part of the issue—

International Trade committee  First, I don't think anyone from the private sector and the analysts would agree that that's enough money. The government has consistently put more money into non-productive assets. Trade infrastructure is how we fund housing, education and health care. Certainly the money that goes to trade infrastructure is not concomitant with its importance nor with need.

International Trade committee  This was the Council of the Federation, so all 13 premiers were involved. Premier Stefanson gave some leadership, but it's a continuing resolution by the council. We have not heard any response from the federal government to the call from the premiers or the call from the private sector, the Business Council, the chamber, Manufacturers & Exporters, the Construction Association.

International Trade committee  Thank you, Madam Chair and members of the committee. Thank you for the invitation to join you from Treaty 7 territory here in Alberta. The Canada West Foundation has worked for 50 years to ensure a strong west in a strong Canada. For the last decade, we have devoted particular attention to in-depth study of Canada's trade infrastructure, the system and assets that move goods, people, money and ideas to and from markets.

International Trade committee  I don't know if I can say “major.” The larger issue, more so than the U.S., is the incorporation of China. That's longer. The logjam with the U.S. can be broken. China requires structural change, fundamental change and rethinking. Again, the WTO continues to work. You've had countries that have taken initial decisions and agreed to abide by them without going through.

International Trade committee  They've made the decision to go to the U.S. market and not to go to other markets, despite our signing trade agreements. I would say that is an exercise of choice. Also, the oil and gas industry and the mining industry are global players. Agricultural equipment manufacturers are global leaders.

International Trade committee  Okay. I'll try to be quicker. Internal barriers, yes, they hinder us. The internal trade issues in Canada are well known. They hit the GDP. They also affect our ability to make products together in Canada to export abroad. That's something we don't think about with internal trade.

International Trade committee  I do. The main question there is the ability to accommodate the Chinese model of economic governance. There's great work out of MIT. I'm blanking on the economist, but it's looking at how the WTO can remain relevant in terms of incorporating China. There's room to be hopeful. I can get the work to the committee members if they want.

International Trade committee  Sure. That's the focus of the two-volume study, which I'm sure you'll be using to go to sleep at night in the near future. Here's one example. We've had an issue with China on beef age restrictions, beef exports, unpredictability over BSE issues and the MRL issues. What the Americans have in their agreement is the following: ...within one month of the date of entry into force of this Agreement, China shall permit the importation into China of those...beef products, except...in Appendix I...inspected by the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) in an FSIS-approved facility. 5.

International Trade committee  About three years ago, I was in Big Timber, Montana, down in the middle of the state, at the bar having dinner. This group of ranchers walked in. This isn't a joke. This is a true story. It sounds like a set-up to a joke. They see the Alberta licence plate out front. They look around the bar, and it's pretty easy to tell who the Albertan is.

International Trade committee  It's what we have. It's the tool that we have, and it is effective at the end of the day.

International Trade committee  That's correct. There are two issues. The WTO process continues to work. You've had cases brought to the WTO where the parties have agreed with the initial decision and haven't advanced it to the appeals stage. I think it was Turkey and.... I can't remember who. There have been cases where it has continued to work simply because countries have chosen just to take the initial ruling.