International Trade committee  No, we haven't heard from the government or whatever. It's just the timetable we have internally about when we have a reasonable expectation of being able to launch the consultations, process the consultations and then get a mandate from cabinet.

International Trade committee  Madam Chair, I think the reference was around an investor-state dispute settlement and ratification of the CETA by all EU members. The investor-state dispute settlement provisions under CETA will not come into place until all EU parties have ratified it, and all have not finished

International Trade committee  Yes, it definitely has been unique. Usually we start from the ground up and we build up. We have more than a few years of negotiating experience under our belt. We have a certain way of doing things. In this instance, we started with the CETA. As I said in one of my earlier ans

International Trade committee  That's correct. If I understand your question correctly, then you do have the correct understanding of it, to put it that way.

International Trade committee  Thank you for the question. You are correct. We would need legislation for the agreement, and there is not a whole lot of time.

International Trade committee  I would say that we have the expertise and the resources at our disposal to make sure that it is analyzed properly and be ready to move forward on that basis.

International Trade committee  Thank you for the question. It does have a lot of similarities to the CETA, and then there are some differences. When I speak about where the areas of similarities are, I'm speaking very much about how it looks, the chapters, etc. I'll give you an example. Issues that can be r

International Trade committee  We started negotiations officially, as I said in my remarks.... The Prime Minister indicated in September 2017 that we should do our best to ensure a seamless transition. We launched the Canada Gazette notice in 2018, and we started negotiations shortly thereafter.

International Trade committee  Madam Chair, in order to launch the negotiations. That's when we will officially launch the bilateral negotiations. I think we would plan to begin the consultation with stakeholders sometime in the first half of next year, move forward with seeking a mandate in the latter half of

International Trade committee  That's a good question. I think my own assessment is that, yes, I think the time frame is reasonable. We're anticipating some keen interest from stakeholders as we launch the consultation process, and I think there is a strong interest, as I said, on our side and on the U.K. side

International Trade committee  I think so. This is a unique negotiation, I must say. We have not had one like this ever, and we have been at this more than a few years, where we're looking at trying to replicate something that is already in place, but it's not the greatest. We're trying to replicate something

International Trade committee  It was issued in July 2018.

International Trade committee  Thank you for the question, Madam Chair. My mandate—my marching orders—from the minister and from the Prime Minister have been very clear: that there would be no increase in market access for supply-managed products coming into Canada. We have been very clear at the negotiating

International Trade committee  Madam Chair, we speak regularly with all of the sectors that have an interest, and agriculture is obviously an important sector for us, both exporters, on the offensive side and on the defensive side. We have regular channels of communication with all groups. We meet regularly

International Trade committee  Madam Chair, I think that is absolutely the case. All of our negotiators, whether we're negotiating with the United Kingdom or any other country, are absolutely trying to get the best deal for Canadian producers, exporters and businesses. Frankly, you're absolutely right. Many ne