Standing Committee on International Trade

Comité permanent du commerce international

For immediate release

Ottawa, April 10, 2017 -

Today, the House of Commons Standing Committee on International Trade presented to the House of Commons its report on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) public consultation that it conducted from February 2016 to February 2017. The report is entitled “The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement: Benefits and Challenges for Canadians.”

The report contains 14 recommendations relating to, among other things, the priority that should be given to negotiating trade and investment agreements in the Asia-Pacific region, engaging in public consultations about such agreements and their negotiation, and providing support to businesses that wish to export.

“The Committee heard from a very diverse range of stakeholders, including the general public, during its consultations about the TPP. While some believed that the TPP would make it easier for Canadian businesses to trade with the countries in the Asia-Pacific region with which Canada does not already have a free trade agreement, others expressed concerns, most notably regarding the TPP’s investor-state dispute-settlement mechanism and its provisions on intellectual property,” said the Honourable Mark Eyking, P.C., M.P., Chair of the Committee.

He concluded: “I believe that implementation of the Committee’s recommendations will allow Canadians to benefit from any trade and investment agreements that may be negotiated with Asia-Pacific countries. On behalf of the Committee, I wish to thank the groups and individuals who shared their thoughts about the TPP.”

During the study, the Committee heard from 312 invited witnesses during its hearings in Ottawa and throughout Canada, as well as from 103 members of the public during “open mic” sessions. It also received 199 briefs, and almost 50,000 emails and letters, in the course of its TPP public consultation.

The Committee’s report can be accessed at: http://www.parl.gc.ca/Committees/en/CIIT/StudyActivity?studyActivityId=8790900