International Trade committee  Well, I'm diabetic now and can't drink it anymore, but I used to.

International Trade committee  I've said a lot of things about CETA—

International Trade committee  —then and since then. As a former negotiator, I know that the more you want something, the more you're going to pay for it, and Canada badly needs an agreement with Europe, because there are 27 countries there. It's a major market, and if we're outside, we're least favoured. Wi

International Trade committee  Thank you, sir. I would like to talk to you a little bit today about the Trade Commissioner Service and its evolution in the ever-evolving trade dynamics around the world that Canadians have to cope with and that they have to cope with. You have heard good things about the Trad

Agriculture committee  Back in 2003 we prepared a very detailed summary of subsidies to agriculture in the United States, and in New Zealand, because it's a myth that New Zealand agriculture is not subsidized. It's also a myth that Australian agriculture is not subsidized, given the extent of free irri

Agriculture committee  I'll go back, Mr. Bellavance, to my last job in government, when I was on assignment in Montreal as head of the garment manufacturers institute. The basic problem was that we were always getting complaints that quotas on garments raised prices. When the quotas came off, the price

Agriculture committee  Yes, I'm aware of the report. I'm aware of the discussions in the House and the comments and the concerns about everything being on the table. That's a pretty standard approach to negotiations at the outset—that everything's on the table. Then you talk about exclusions. I met wi

Agriculture committee  Well, you haven't got anything you can really threaten them with, and that's the only thing they understand. A two-by-four sometimes helps.

Agriculture committee  The Secretary of Agriculture in the United States has been quite a surprise to me. Since he was appointed, he reversed previous decisions. I can't believe that Senator Chuck Grassley supports that position. I think that whom you see is going to matter as much as what you say. But

Agriculture committee  The federal government could put a cap on the benefits across the country and reduce the federal payment or increase the federal payment to that level, related to provincial production.

Agriculture committee  I should indicate that from time to time I do work for the Canadian Cattlemen's Association, which as I recall is located in Alberta, as well as for the Ontario cattlemen. The issues, which I began to address, about the European Union changing their single-farm payments where th

Agriculture committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm sorry, I was travelling a bit and didn't have time to finish my text in time, but I will get it to the committee in both languages in the next few days. I'll try to hit a few of the high points. I have reviewed what's been happening before you over t

International Trade committee  Do you mean when they go to negotiate with other people?

International Trade committee  We did try that a number of years ago, and the United States would much rather be the hub with a lot of spokes than have NAFTA go out and negotiate a number of agreements. It's a political thing for them, a perception deeply rooted in Congress. They don't want to do them with any

International Trade committee  We try. It didn't work with Singapore.