International Trade committee  I'm sorry. I misspoke earlier. I have been corrected. We have a standard of five working days for a response, so I was a little ambitious in that, but obviously I do know that our trade commissioners try to get back to their clients as soon as they possibly can. We meet the standard over 90% of the time and we usually respond within 24 hours, but of course, as I said, some issues are more complex and do take a bit more time for us.

International Trade committee  I'm pleased to talk a little bit about this and how we're supporting our clients and Canadian companies in going virtual. In fact, this is the subject of a big part of the program that Mr. Thornley manages through our regional offices. Certainly that's there. We have enhanced services for digital industries, trade, intellectual property and e-commerce that were part of our trade diversification strategy that was launched some time ago.

International Trade committee  I recall seeing tables earlier on. I'm sure we can provide some of this information about specifically the number of trucks that cross the border. Obviously, there was a very strong interest in maintaining as much as possible of the open and free movement of essential goods and services, including trucks bringing essential supplies and other things into the country for the auto sector and all sectors, including making sure the shelves in our grocery stores are stocked.

International Trade committee  Madam Chair, we have not seen that having the very few trade commissioners who have not been able to return to their posts being back in Canada at the moment has resulted in less trade per se. There may be other reasons for reductions in the movement of goods and services abroad.

International Trade committee  Thank you, Madam Chair, for the question. The trade commissioners are working with the clients, of course, to ensure that they have opportunities presented before them and that they are in the best position to take advantage of those opportunities. In terms of the discussions with the Americans and negotiations regarding softwood lumber, I would defer to my colleague Kendal Hembroff for that response.

International Trade committee  Thank you very much for the question. Of course, our trade commissioners in the field are always working with our farmers and producers to help them find opportunities, to diversify those opportunities, to ensure that they have good, solid partnerships in place and to help them solve problems when problems arise, including informing our trade policy colleagues when certain barriers come up and asking them to work very closely and quickly with our colleagues at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada to try to resolve them in a longer term.

International Trade committee  We are roughly one thousand abroad. There are about one thousand trade commissioners overseas. That includes locally engaged and Canada-based, which means that they are Canadian diplomats posted overseas. We also have a large number of locally engaged officers who are citizens or local residents of the countries around the world.

International Trade committee  I think I mentioned, Madam Chair, that some of our trade commissioners were evacuated for health and safety reasons earlier in the pandemic. Most of them have, in fact, returned to their posts, where that has been possible. I can get back to the committee with precise numbers for those who remain unable to return to their posts, but the vast majority have returned.

International Trade committee  Certainly. I am happy to table that.

International Trade committee  Yes, I'm happy to table that. I can provide some insights now, if you'd like.

International Trade committee  Madam Chair, I'm very happy to tell the committee that in some cases our services have increased in certain areas. Problem-solving, as I mentioned, is up considerably against normal times of the year. Our client satisfaction rates are also dramatically increased because, of course, our clients really needed our help and were grateful to receive it.

International Trade committee  Certainly. Just to be very clear on that and also on the earlier question, there is no change in the eligibility for our trade commissioners' clients. In terms of the firms we work with or any Canadian firms that are facing any kinds of challenges, we haven't changed the eligibility requirements, and we would not change the eligibility requirements for the companies with which we work in the face of any change in our trade agreements with the United Kingdom.

International Trade committee  I think the question was directed at Ms. Hembroff, and I saw her nodding, but certainly, we will make sure that you receive that information.

International Trade committee  Thank you. I would be very pleased to speak a bit more about what we have done to go contact-free. Of course, we ourselves are also offering virtually our programs and services normally delivered in person, but I think you are asking more about how we are helping our clients to move in that direction.

International Trade committee  In this case, the rules-based international order is something that our clients certainly rely upon to ensure a level playing field. I would turn to Kendal to elaborate on how that supports...and what kinds of conversations have been going on internationally with regard to that.