International Trade committee  We have resolved—

International Trade committee  We have resolved issues with the Chinese before, a number of times over the last decade or so. Scientists have agreed that a resolution is possible. We are waiting, and we have been waiting for a while now, for Chinese officials to show us they have evidence that contradicts ou

International Trade committee  We've signed trade agreements. We signed a trade agreement with the European Union, and that means we now have 500 million customers in Canada's free trade zone. We have agreed to NAFTA 2, for lack of a better acronym. Very importantly for canola in particular, we have signed and

International Trade committee  I think what we learned is that when we can engage the Chinese on common ground—and the common ground is science, even though we have to say, colleagues, that scientists can disagree on evidence too, because it's not pure, but it's a very good start.... The way to work through an

International Trade committee  We first want to engage with Chinese officials, and we want to engage with them at the scientific level. Second, we want to make sure there is support available for producers from the Government of Canada if that becomes necessary. Third, we think trade diversification is part of

International Trade committee  I appreciate the question because it drives at the heart of an anxiety that many nations around the world are feeling at this moment in the rules-based trading order, which is that the World Trade Organization needs to be reformed, and it needs to be reformed soon, because the Am

International Trade committee  China is the second-largest economy in the world. It is by far the largest importer of Canadian canola. It's growing rapidly, and it will continue to. I take a fair bit of comfort, by the way, in remembering that date in 1910 when the Richardsons signed their first deal with Chi

International Trade committee  We are very aggressive in making Canadian producers and small and medium-sized businesses aware of the new trade agreements that are available to them. You might have noticed that in the fall economic statement there was considerable investment in trade, in trade infrastructure,

International Trade committee  I would just add, Chair, if I could for two seconds—

International Trade committee  Jim Nickel is the acting ambassador of Canada in Beijing. He's very senior—you know of him—and a very competent and able public servant. He is leading on-the-ground initiatives on behalf of Canada in Beijing now.

International Trade committee  We don't think it's in Canada's interests to escalate the tension. We think it's in Canada's interest to resolve the problem, and the way to resolve the problem is to agree on what the problem is. That's why our efforts were so focused on dealing with the issue on that level. If

International Trade committee  You have other assets.

International Trade committee  We are.

International Trade committee  In all of our conversations with our trading partners, we share what trading issues might be the focus of attention of our government and issues that may not even be associated with international trade. So there is a continuing conversation. You develop, in pretty short order, go

International Trade  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Scarborough—Guildwood for his leadership, tenacity and perseverance for more than a decade on this file. Today, I announced the appointment of Sheri Meyerhoffer as the first-ever Canadian ombudsperson for responsible enterpris