International Trade committee  Thank you for your question, Mr. Cannings. I don't think Canada needs to turn to a dispute settlement body, either through CUSMA or the WTO. Canada really came out ahead following the negotiations that led to the most recent version of the act. For the time being, we are receivi

International Trade committee  Thank you for your question. I think many solutions exist, and the other witnesses talked about some. Canada needs to make smart strategic investments. As a lawyer, I think some of our normative frameworks need reworking. Canada is a laggard on the due diligence front. Do we wa

International Trade committee  Would you like me to start over?

International Trade committee  Shall I start from the beginning? Okay. Good morning, Madam Chair. Thank you. Members of the committee, thank you for inviting me to appear today. I am an international law professor in the law faculty at Université de Sherbrooke, and I specialize in international trade law.

International Trade committee  Thank you, Madam Chair. Members of the committee, thank you for inviting me to appear today. My name is Geneviève Dufour, and I am a professor of international law in the law faculty at Université de Sherbrooke. I specialize in international trade law. I am delighted to be her

Economic Relationship between Canada and the United States committee  I completely agree with this statement. These arrangements are outside the scope of the agreement when their purpose is to carry out a given project.

Economic Relationship between Canada and the United States committee  I completely agree with what Mr. Hughes just said. In my opinion, after a comprehensive analysis of the measures that will be announced—a process that will take some time—the Government of Canada must hold discussions to reaffirm the integration of our value chains. This bears re

Economic Relationship between Canada and the United States committee  You're right to bring up this measure, which can affect Canadian businesses. You're talking about the measure whereby all contracts under $250,000 must be allocated to American small businesses. This means that Canadian companies are excluded from these contracts. However, Americ

Economic Relationship between Canada and the United States committee  Yes.

Economic Relationship between Canada and the United States committee  It's the rule of the most-favoured nation, yes. Any measure, privilege, law, directive or policy that would favour Canada, even if it isn't mandatory, must be extended to all the other states, unless it's included in a duly concluded and notified free trade agreement.

Economic Relationship between Canada and the United States committee  Mr. Blaikie, you wanted to know how, in Canada, we could structure projects so that our government contracts include greener criteria. Is that right?

Economic Relationship between Canada and the United States committee  Global studies show that the process of greening our government contracts starts at the top, not the bottom. The government must require the addition of sustainable development criteria in government contracts. This can be done in a progressive and flexible manner. There can be s

Economic Relationship between Canada and the United States committee  Yes. It's perfectly possible to add to or amend an agreement by exchanging letters.

Economic Relationship between Canada and the United States committee  Exactly. These letters are attached to the agreements.

Economic Relationship between Canada and the United States committee  We must be very careful when it comes to government contracts and environmental criteria. I can tell you that this is one of my main concerns. I'm currently leading a battle with the Quebec government to require buyers to include environmental and social criteria in government c