International Trade committee  Good afternoon. It's with great pleasure that I'm here today with Mr. Hutton for the Canada-Arab Business Council. My law firm, Heenan Blaikie, is pleased to be a very active member of the CABC and a board member as well. My experience working with Jordanian business was certai

International Trade committee  I will rest on Mr. Hutton's comments with respect to taxation. But on a couple of the points that were spoken about earlier with respect to assistance on the ground at the embassy in Jordan, I know the trade commissioner there, who is excellent, services four regions--Syria, Iraq

International Trade committee  Yes. In the context of the free trade negotiations, of course, there is the side agreement, which is the agreement on labour cooperation. This, as Mr. Hutton mentioned, provides Canada with an excellent opportunity to address whatever migrant worker issues we may have in Jordan i

International Trade committee  I can only echo what Mr. Hutton said. In the context of the labour agreements, this provides Canada with the opportunity to address the very concerns you've just mentioned. Canada would be in a position to point to specific articles of the agreement and express whatever concerns

International Trade committee  Thank you. One of the things that has struck me in doing business with Jordanian and Canadian companies is the fact that Jordanian businesses are willing to travel as well. In fact, I've been very pleased to host the vice-president of the Abdali project in Amman, which I mention

International Trade committee  Certainly. Of course, agricultural products in Canada stand to gain significant exports in that area. In terms of infrastructure, you're quite right, Canadian firms have a lot to gain in Jordan on the service end. Of course, this is a free trade agreement for goods. That said, i

International Trade committee  Absolutely.

International Trade committee  I know that apparel is important for Canadian businesses, woven apparel in particular. That has, historically, been one of Jordan's most important exports to Canada. Also, the jewelry sector, believe it or not, is also....

International Trade committee  I understand that jewelry exports have increased, actually, over the last several years as well. You're quite right. Jordan needs to develop its needs in terms of goods from Canada. Sorry, it is vice versa. We see that the trade in those particular areas, apparel in particular,

International Trade committee  That's right.

International Trade committee  Yes. The nice thing about the location of Jordan is that it's bordering on some very important potential markets for Canada. I know from my experiences at the embassy there that Iraq will also be a very important market for Canadian businesses moving forward. So once Canadian bus

International Trade committee  I would add transportation to that list as well.

International Trade committee  Well, the rights of migrant workers and such, on a personal level, certainly are a concern to me. But I can say that this opportunity for Canada is one that we should seize. If the free trade agreement is implemented, it stands to reason that we then have the platform to speak wi

International Trade committee  I can certainly speak to that for a few moments. Thank you. I have been working very gladly with Queen Rania's organization, which is the Jordan River Foundation. It is an organization she established that works in conjunction with the federal government in Jordan. It looks part

International Trade committee  I can also add a couple of thoughts to that. The Jordan investment authority based in Amman has expressed to me a number of times that Jordan businesses are quite interested in doing business with Canada in particular. They enjoy the political climate of Canada. They enjoy welc