Committee
Consult the user guide
For assistance, please contact us
Consult the user guide
For assistance, please contact us
Add search criteria
Results: 136 - 150 of 171
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Correctly, Randy?
I don't think I'm going to answer in the way that totally agrees with you.
I'm happy for Randy to take up the time with his comments, if he prefers.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
You asked a number of questions, Randy, and I'm going to go back and answer those questions in order.
On the point about consultations, my view—and this has been confirmed publicly on the record by Canada's labour leaders—is that labour was not adequately consulted during the negotiations. I think that is a big mistake. It's not the approach of our government. We think it is important to talk to labour as we are doing trade agreements. We can't go back and change time, but we can certainly include labour in the discussions of TPP, and that is essential.
Another group that was left out of the process, and we acted immediately to include this group, was Canada's academic community. They are academics in the intellectual property space. We now have one of them as our parliamentary secretary who has strong and intelligent points of view on TPP, and on intellectual property in particular. That's a community that was insufficiently included in the discussions ahead of the negotiation, and I've been pleased to include them.
In terms of the consultations and the review now, the previous discussions of this agreement happened before we had the final text and before we knew what was in the deal. As you know very well, we didn't know what was in it until it was concluded, because this was a complex negotiation. It is not just appropriate, it's essential for us as a country—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
I'm glad, I always love talking to Randy.
The time is up. Okay.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
B.C. is a part of our country that is very strongly focused on trade and has a natural interest in trade in Asia-Pacific. We made a point of travelling to B.C. in January to hear people's views on trade in general. We talked a lot about trade with Asia-Pacific more broadly, China and India, and we talked about the TPP.
You asked me to name some of the people we spoke to: Robin Silvester, who is well known, especially to B.C. MPs. He's the CEO of Port Metro Vancouver. He organized a round table of groups and businesses that do a lot of business in the port. I was happy to speak with him and to speak with that group.
We also did a round table with the chambers of commerce of the TPP signatory countries that are in B.C. We heard their views about the agreement. We had a very important discussion at UBC. That was a public discussion. We had academics involved, and we had a lot of students. I think we had about 200 people talking about this agreement and Asia trade generally. We also had a very good conversation on Canada's export opportunities in Asia, with a particular focus on China and India at Stewart Beck's organization, the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. We had a lot of meetings.
As people who follow Twitter will know, I had a very good conversation yesterday with Christy Clark, the premier of B.C. Our focus of that conversation was softwood lumber, but we also talked about trade.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
As you know very well, and I hope members of the committee know, an important focus in my mandate letter is our commitment to open up trade with emerging markets, with particular focus on India and China. I won't mention the date because I'm not sure I'm allowed to, but I will be having a bilateral meeting soon with India's minister of commerce. That's a priority for us. We need to start talking about ways that we can expand that relationship. I met with her already in Nairobi, and I'm looking forward to having a longer conversation with her about ways that can grow our essential trade with that country. I know that Randy, with the Saskatchewan pulses, has a strong knowledge of and interest in that business.
As for China, the Chinese minister of commerce was not at the APEC summit, but his vice-minister was. His vice-minister had a long meeting with our ADM, and I had a very good conversation with him, too. That's another area where we are working very hard. This is something very important to bear in mind when we think about—
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
On the TPP and on where we are, as you know very well, the TPP agreement was finalized during the election campaign. We came into government, and you came into Parliament at a time when the agreement was already complete.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
I know, but it's complicated.
We came into government when all the partners had concluded the negotiations. Our job now is to talk to Canadians, to hear their point of view, and very much to be part of the conversation between TPP countries, as I was in APEC this week.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
As I've said, when we formed government, we inherited a finalized TPP agreement.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
We inherited a situation where the work that the previous government had done on an impact study was largely restricted to before the negotiations, to 2012, looking at the landscape before we knew the shape of the deal.
I have instructed my department to look very closely into the impacts of the TPP, and also very importantly, into what the impact would be for Canada if TPP were concluded with Canada outside the deal. That work is ongoing, and I'm looking forward to its completion.
I am very pleased that as part of this period of national debate and discussion of the agreement, other Canadian groups are having a chance in groups around the world to come forward with their studies of the TPP. That's also a really important contribution to the discussion.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
We are currently doing our work on the impact of the TPP if it were to come into force and also—this is an important fact for the committee to consider and it's something that I asked the department to be looking at when we do our work on the impact study—we need to be very thoughtful of what the consequences would be for Canada if the TPP were to come into force and Canada were to be outside that agreement. That's the economic assessment that we're working on, and it's an important one for the country.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
That's a very important part of the process. I have spoken with Perry Bellegarde about first nations consultations, and we are working with the Department of Indigenous Affairs. David and I are very closely engaged in that effort. We have some meetings over the next few days. They will definitely be included in the consultation process, and thank you for pointing that out.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Thank you for the question. I do also want to point out since time has been taken up by various things that I do only have an hour this morning. Our Canada-U.S. cabinet subcommittee is meeting at 9:30. I am the chair of that committee, and David MacNaughton our ambassador to the U.S., has come especially from Washington to be there. So please bear that in mind.
You mentioned, Peter, the open microphone, and I really do want to, in perhaps a non-partisan spirit, congratulate the committee on having that open microphone innovation. I think that it was a response to your first week of consultations. I have had very good feedback from people about having the open microphone, so congratulations on doing it. I think you've set an important parliamentary committee precedent.
On Canada's entry into the TPP negotiations it's actually something that I raised in the House when I was like you all a trade critic. The reality is we together with Mexico entered the negotiations late, and one of the conditions of this late entry was that everything that had already been agreed we had to accept when we entered the negotiations unless we were able to get unanimous agreement of all the other TPP countries that we could reopen something. An area where Canada was successful in reopening, with Mexico, was that prior to Canada and Mexico entering the TPP had been an English language only document and Canada and Mexico succeeded in adding French and Spanish to the negotiating languages. Although very important for Canada, on really substantive trade issues a condition of entering—and it's the case with very many clubs—is if there's a group that's already there that's negotiated you have to accept what has been negotiated. We can't rewrite history, but I do think that's something we have to be aware of.
Results: 136 - 150 of 171 | Page: 10 of 12

|<
<
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
>
>|
Export As: XML CSV RSS

For more data options, please see Open Data