Finance committee  I think the Prime Minister's comments this week in New York underscore that the world is looking at how we're going to fare with the implementation of the sustainable development goals. The more that Canada, through its development agencies, the embassies, and working with the pr

Finance committee  The debate on the definition has been under way now for over 10 years. It's based on the World Trade Organization definition of what the subsidy is. My colleagues in our Geneva office have been working on this over the last 10 years with the OECD, with the International Monetary

Finance committee  The International Institute for Sustainable Development has been around for about 30 years. Our funding is from different sources including the Government of Canada, the Ontario government, the Manitoba government—our headquarters are in Winnipeg—the United Kingdom International

Finance committee  We would argue the importance of having policy coherence. We work very closely, as I just mentioned, with the business sector. There are points where we still have different perceptions on key measures, but we're all here because we want the Canadian economy to succeed, we want C

Finance committee  Mr. Chair, vice-chairs, honourable members, good morning. Thank you very much for inviting us. I'm joined by my colleague Yanick Touchette. I want to focus my brief remarks this morning on three recommendations contained in the recent report of the Green Budget Coalition, of wh

International Trade committee  Mr. Chair and honourable members, thank you very much for inviting me. I need not tell this committee that your work takes place at a moment of exceptional trade policy uncertainty and instability, and thus we welcome work towards a possible Canada-Mercosur free trade agreement.

International Trade committee  Very briefly, I was at a meeting yesterday in New York talking about exactly this with the OECD, the International Trade Centre, and the World Trade Organization. There's a report I'd recommend that ITC came out with in July 2017. Right now, e-commerce represents about 12% of g

International Trade committee  Mr. Chair, and honourable members, thanks very much for inviting me. I wanted to make three brief points. First, in 1994 NAFTA and its environmental side agreement, at that point, broke new ground in aligning trade and environmental issues, and at a minimum, those environmental

Environment committee  We'd be glad to share with the committee. I think there are examples outside of Canada, as you were asking. The U.K., for example, will specifically measure the carbon footprint of the U.K.. The Prime Minister has made commitments to move that down dramatically over a time period

Environment committee  I will give you one example. There are international standards, for example, the World Bank International Finance Corporation, by which, for any money going out of there at a project level, there's an immediate trigger at 100,000 tonnes that has to be disclosed. What you're seei

Environment committee  Just very briefly then, on whether the government has the powers.... You've more experienced people around this table. From my perspective, the government has the tools now, looking at it from the government right to regulate and Ottawa's exclusive jurisdiction on international m

Environment committee  Very briefly, when you look at it, there's a lot going on right now. At the international level, the World Bank, the IMF, most UN agencies, UNESCO, UNICEF, UNDP, they're basically reframing their work, beginning with the measurement around the SDGs. One example is we're working

Environment committee  Absolutely, I'm nodding my head in agreement. I think that's exactly the right sequence. I think enforcement may be early, but I think that getting that measurement and then getting it out in the public domain.... We heard from Mr. Cullen. The numbers speak for themselves. If you

Environment committee  I believe the intention was originally to measure the performance of deputies, and then I think by legal opinion from Justice and others it was watered down to a very narrow, specific of third party contracts.

Environment committee  No, that was exactly the point. There was in the original act that provision to measure—