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View Rachel Bendayan Profile
Lib. (QC)
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Just as a quick follow-up, Mr. Forsyth and Mr. Fowler, you referred to a negotiating mandate. Mr. Forsyth, you were at the negotiating table with the United Kingdom. Did you receive a mandate on behalf of our government not to hinder supply management in the negotiations that you undertook with the United Kingdom?
Doug Forsyth
View Doug Forsyth Profile
Doug Forsyth
2021-06-11 13:21
Yes, absolutely. In fact, the mandate that we received and that we put forward through the Minister of International Trade and that was approved by cabinet included words to the effect that there would be no incremental market access for supply-managed products. Words to that effect apply in every negotiating mandate that I'm aware of when we launch free trade negotiations. They are words to live by, I think—
View Tracy Gray Profile
CPC (BC)
Thank you.
I want to ask you this because of your experience negotiating the Canada-UK Trade Continuity Agreement last year.
Despite the U.K. being a large exporter of cheese worldwide, the negotiators were able to ensure no new market access to supply-managed sectors in this agreement. What is the process that the negotiators go through in order to prevent this from happening? I think you touched on it a little bit today, but is there anything else you want to add?
Doug Forsyth
View Doug Forsyth Profile
Doug Forsyth
2021-06-11 14:16
I'll highlight a few of the issues.
It very much starts with our looking at the world for our offensive and defensive interests in any negotiation. We look at where we are, what sectors we'd like to protect, what sectors we have to protect. Those are the issues that would go into our cabinet mandate. There are recommendations to the minister, and they would be elaborated on in a cabinet mandate.
The Canada-U.K. agreement, as I mentioned a couple of times, was certainly part and parcel of the constraints that the negotiating team faced and that I faced as chief negotiator. As you know, it was well respected throughout the negotiating process, and we were able to achieve an outcome that fully respected the policies of the supply-managed system.
View Tracy Gray Profile
CPC (BC)
Okay. Thank you very much.
We heard today from High Commissioner Goodale that it looks like the agreement between Canada and the U.K. will be accelerated, although U.K. Prime Minister Johnson told CBC a few weeks ago that he wants to see access for U.K. cheese in the Canadian market.
What action has the government directed you or our department to take on this issue?
Doug Forsyth
View Doug Forsyth Profile
Doug Forsyth
2021-06-11 14:17
I think we have not yet launched the bilateral negotiations between Canada and the U.K. We finished our consultations earlier in May. My understanding is that the U.K. is currently undergoing their consultations. We anticipate that they will be finished early in the summer.
We will—
Doug Forsyth
View Doug Forsyth Profile
Doug Forsyth
2021-06-11 14:17
I have not been advised of that. We will see.
We will put forward a mandate to government late in the summer or early in the fall, and then we will follow the tabling of treaty process as we move forward and provide the—
View Tracy Gray Profile
CPC (BC)
If I could just squeeze this in, would royal assent for Bill C-216 be helpful to you in the success of our negotiations with the U.K. to protect Canadian supply-managed sectors, or would you say that it will make no difference in the prioritization of protecting it?
Doug Forsyth
View Doug Forsyth Profile
Doug Forsyth
2021-06-11 14:18
Thank you for the question.
I don't think it will make any difference in the sense of prioritizing it. It may make it more difficult once the U.K. government sees that [Technical difficulty—Editor] issues are and they would [Technical difficulty—Editor]
View Tracy Gray Profile
CPC (BC)
Thank you, Madam Chair, for allowing me the extra time because of the translation problem.
If Bill C-216 receives royal assent, would it be helpful to you in success in negotiations with the U.K. to protect Canadian supply-managed sectors, or would you say that it would make no difference in the prioritizing of it?
Doug Forsyth
View Doug Forsyth Profile
Doug Forsyth
2021-06-11 14:19
In terms of protecting supply management, I don't think it would make any difference. The mandate would not be developed yet, but I think the words from the Prime Minister, the Minister of International Trade and the Minister of Agriculture are clear that there will be no new concessions under supply management in our future trade negotiations. I can't see it making a difference, frankly.
Where it would make a difference, though—and I think this is where I got interrupted—is with respect to where the U.K. enters negotiation and their mindset and their frame of mind when they come in. If they see that we have completely taken something off the table, it is quite likely that they would look to do the same, and then we would not be operating from the same basket of issues.
View Louis Plamondon Profile
BQ (QC)
Thank you for your question.
As I said in my statement, the bill would limit the minister's power to concede anything in international negotiations. As I told you earlier, we've managed to keep supply management intact in the first 16 free trade agreements that Canada has signed.
Every country has its own sensitive products that it protects. We also have our sensitive products and our farming practices as well, which are unique, and we protect them.
The aim of this bill is to continue protecting in future negotiations the principle of supply management, which has been around for 50 years. What's done is done. There have been breaches, and that's unfortunate, but we can take another tack in future negotiations, such as those we're preparing to undertake with Latin America.
Here's another example. Great Britain is now independent from the European Union as a result of Brexit and is currently negotiating a free trade agreement. However, Great Britain was part of the system when we conceded 3% to the European Union. We can't allow it another piece of free trade; we can't create another breach for Great Britain. It has to demand its share from the European Union because the agreement was negotiated for the entire European Union.
Our negotiators must therefore take very firm positions. When they sit down at the bargaining table and free trade is addressed, they'll be able to respond categorically that it's illegal under Canadian legislation for them to conduct such negotiations, period. Negotiations will then focus on other issues. It's a fairly simple principle.
View Ben Lobb Profile
CPC (ON)
View Ben Lobb Profile
2021-04-26 12:26
I appreciate the public protection and safety, but in a lot of these cases I've seen in my riding, the technicians are coming across, they are working on a piece of equipment when no one else is around, and when they are done they go back to their hotel. They come back the next day, finish their work and then drive back to Michigan.
There is no public risk when you compare that with something like Pearson Airport or Costco, or what have you. Anything you can do to work with CBSA and Foreign Affairs will help trade, probably more than any of the discussions we've had today, to be quite honest, at least in southwestern Ontario.
Just before Christmas there was a lot of talk about the Canada-U.K. trade continuity agreement. I'm just curious. Where are we at with a long-term trade deal? Are there any discussions right now? Is that pretty well silent?
Steve Verheul
View Steve Verheul Profile
Steve Verheul
2021-04-26 12:27
I can respond to that. As you know, the transitional agreement came into effect on April 1. Since then we have been conducting consultations with stakeholders to get a clear sense of what various stakeholders would like to see in a new agreement. That consultation is nearing an end. We'll then start to develop our strategy, get guidance from cabinet and we would be looking to initiate negotiations later in the year.
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