Finance committee  I think that Canada has an opportunity to be an energy supplier to Asia, and specifically China. The relationships that are being built as a result, both by the Prime Minister and by the private sector, will help in that regard. But that is a market. We need to find new markets for Canadian energy, and this will help facilitate that.

Finance committee  I think the strength of the Canadian banking system would definitely be a factor. It is something that Canada is gaining a reputation for around the world, as being the only G-7 country that did not have to provide government financial support to financial institutions, which is something I think we can be proud of.

Finance committee  Well, I think that governments provincially and the federal government can help encourage the private sector to learn more about how to make these transactions happen. Last Friday we did a workshop in British Columbia sponsored by AdvantageBC, where we only reached out to our own immediate members.

Finance committee  Yes, absolutely. We already have some of our forest exporters who are exporting into China and who are piloting the use of renminbi direct currency exchange. It's in the early stages. We've been doing programs through AdvantageBC to help educate the private sector in British Columbia as to what they need to do to make that transition.

Finance committee  Yes. This was a study that AdvantageBC commissioned from MMK Consulting, based in their Vancouver office. It was looking basically at trade volumes and what would be the cost that companies would incur if they had to go through the U.S. dollar. They would have the cost of two currency exchanges plus the additional cost of hedging, if that's the route they take, plus the additional risk.

Finance committee  I think first of all there's no indication that there would be a new settlement hub established anywhere in the Americas anytime in the near future. So we do have that advantage of being the first opportunity in the Americas, and we need to capitalize on that. But I think that within time, whether it's five years or longer, when China gets to the point when they can fully open up and liberalize their currency to the point that it's not a controlled currency—which I think clearly is their objective—settlement hubs will no longer be as relevant.

Finance committee  It was about three years in the making. I was actually serving on Treasury Board when this initiative was first contemplated. We talk about the symbolism of the relationships between China and other countries. This was motivated by a desire to make a statement to China that British Columbia wants to be very aggressive as a partner in international commerce and I think we succeeded at that.

Finance committee  AdvantageBC is a non-government body. It's a not-for-profit. We receive no government funding. We're funded by our members who are primarily operating in the financial services sector in British Columbia. I think we have to be sensitive to what the market needs. The success of a Canadian RMB hub is not going to be driven by governments.

Finance committee  There was a chill, and I think it comes down to communication, because in anything to do with international business, international finance, companies and countries are looking for certainty and they're looking for stability. I think just the fact that Canada changed its policy would cause concern and people would want to know what the new direction would be.

Finance committee  I'll jump in first. My quick answer would be that I don't think we should treat the SOEs any differently from how we treat non-SOEs. I also think that when it comes to the renminbi settlement issue, there may be an advantage to working in partnership with the SOEs in that they're probably in a better position to offer better price advantages to Canadian exporters and importers than perhaps some of the non-SOEs are able to do.

Finance committee  There are a couple of things. First of all, it's an opportunity for us to further strengthen our financial services sector in Vancouver, and as I mentioned, it's largely around trade finance but the other big advantage is time zone. I think we don't recognize how strategic that is for Canada, and when you look at British Columbian companies that are exporting into China, British Columbia has the largest percentage of its exports going to Asia of any province in Canada, by a fairly substantial measure.

Finance committee  Yes, both through our growing partnership with China and the reputation that Canada is gaining in China as a trusted partner. We have seen over the last number of years a significant bias with more Canadian investment going into China than vice versa. We've now seen that equalize, but in the coming years we're going to see that two-way flow of investment grow significantly and the new RQFII allocation is a big opportunity for western Canadian investment firms to actually invest directly into Chinese equities as well.

Finance committee  Absolutely, and given the fact that we've been explicitly designated as the settlement hub for North America, I think it signals that China is not anxious to establish a similar kind of agency in North America. There is no indication we've heard of that there are any discussions under way vis-à-vis South America.

Finance committee  I think there are two answers for that. First of all, I think you're correct, in that it would be an advantage for non-Canadian firms as well—

Finance committee  —but if we want to actually build Canada's reputation for a financial services industry, I think that's to our benefit.