CANADA ECONOMICS

Global Affairs Canada. April 8, 2017. Minister of Foreign Affairs to attend G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Italy

As a member of the Group of Seven (G7), Canada is working to improve the well-being of people at home and around the world. Canada’s priorities at this year’s G7 meetings include the advancement of a progressive international agenda and the promotion of shared values.

In 2018, Canada will hold the G7 presidency, providing an opportunity to showcase the country’s contributions, including support for a strong middle class and gender equality, as well as respect for diversity and inclusion.

The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today announced that she will join her counterparts at the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Lucca, Italy, on April 10 and 11, 2017.

Held each spring, the annual G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting offers its members a unique forum where they can develop coordinated approaches through frank and open discussions on issues related to foreign affairs and international security.

This year, G7 foreign ministers will address several pressing issues, including the ongoing and recent violence—and chemical weapons attack—in Syria, support for Ukraine’s sovereignty, migration flows, climate change and security, the fight against Daesh, violent extremism, and peace and security, among others.

Quotes

“Canada is committed to working with our G7 partners to discuss key issues and to explore how we can tackle global challenges and support our middle class. Our work will continue in 2018, when Canada holds the G7 presidency for the sixth time.”

- Hon. Chrystia Freeland, P.C., M.P., Minister of Foreign Affairs

Quick facts

• The G7 is an informal group of like-minded partners that brings together seven industrialized nations (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States) and the European Union.
• The G7 dates back to the mid-1970s, and the G7 presidency, which rotates annually between member countries, sets the agenda for the year in consultation with G7 partners. Italy holds the presidency in 2017, and Canada will hold it in 2018.
• Following the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, leaders will meet at the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Taormina, Italy, on May 26 and 27, 2017.

Canada and the G7: http://international.gc.ca/world-monde_draft/international_relations-relations_internationales/g7/index.aspx?lang=eng
Italian G7 Presidency 2017: http://www.g7italy.it/en

THE GLOBE & MAIL. OPINION. Apr. 07, 2017. Canadian free-trade deal a good start, but must go further. By DANIEL SCHWANEN, Special to The Globe and Mail

At this time of anxiety surrounding international trade relations, it was encouraging to see a new Canadian free-trade agreement arrive on the scene Friday. Unveiled by federal, provincial and territorial governments, the CFTA seeks to reduce government-imposed barriers that Canadians face when seeking economic opportunities across the country. But does it deliver? Only partly.

Our economic union, with all its flaws, remains a vital avenue of economic opportunities for Canadians. The CFTA represents a serious but incomplete attempt at removing barriers to accessing these opportunities. Canadians looking to buy and import alcoholic beverages more freely from other provinces will certainly be disappointed by the CFTA, which only engages governments to put forth options to liberalize trade in this area. As will those seeking freedom from the supply restrictions and high consumer prices imposed by dairy and other farm-marketing schemes that rely for their existence on continuing interprovincial as well as international barriers.

Also disappointed will be those seeking immediate regulatory harmonization, for example, of trucking regulations hampering movement of goods across the country, or new mechanisms that would enable businesses to operate in multiple Canadian jurisdictions without having to register separately in each one of them. The CFTA leaves all these barriers and more in place.

But the deal improves matters in some key areas of internal trade. It genuinely reduces the available room government entities use to discriminate between suppliers based on their place of business. It also addresses long-standing issues limiting electricity transmission, or “wheeling,” across provinces. It includes clear strictures against the use of standards or administrative requirements to discriminate against workers or firms seeking to ply their trade or do business from one Canadian jurisdiction to another – Canadians will be spared future episodes in which producers in one province are unable to sell in another because their product is of the wrong colour.

The CFTA clearly lists instances where governments plan on allowing continued discrimination in awarding contracts or licences, based on place of business or residence. These may range from accords to direct the benefits of some oil and gas developments to local communities, to requirements that the seller of certain services have a place of business in the province awarding the licence. This “negative list” approach is a significant step toward transparency of remaining barriers.

The CFTA is also harmonized with international agreements that bind Canada, such that we won’t be able to say anymore that Canadians impose higher barriers against other Canadians than they impose against the rest of the world. This is good for the Canada “brand” abroad.

In short, the CFTA contains a built-in “ratcheting down” of barriers over time. It contains a robust dispute-settlement mechanism, which can lead to monetary penalties enforceable in court.

The agreement fails, however, to create more uniform business rules and standards across the country. Seeking to compensate for this failure, the CFTA introduces new mechanisms for continuing regulatory co-operation and harmonization among governments. Governments now must also draw up new regulations in a way that harmonizes them as far as possible with their fellow governments. But over all, the agreement is weak on standards and rules harmonization.

With the CFTA, Canadian governments deserve an “A” for effort at transparency and harmonizing with international trade rules and a “B” for enhanced access to public procurement contracts, providing avenues for redress against discriminatory practices and preventing new barriers to trade from emerging within Canada. But the CFTA cannot be the end of the road as far as enhanced opportunities for Canadians to benefit from our internal market are concerned. Indeed, the three western provinces, now joined by Manitoba, are continuing their deeper New West Partnership Agreement even as they sign on to the CFTA. Canadians should continue to press for enforcement of constitutional provisions underpinning Canada’s economic union, with or without the CFTA. Canadians must continue to hold governments’ feet to the fire until they have removed from the scene other egregious measures rooted in our protectionist past.

Daniel Schwanen is vice-president, research, at the C.D. Howe Institute.

GLOBAL AFFAIRS CANADA. 03/10/2017. Consulting Canadians on a possible Canada-China free trade agreement

Today’s modern, interconnected economy requires a more inclusive and progressive approach to international trade that reflects the views and priorities of Canadians. Trade means more growth, and more growth means more jobs for our middle class and those working hard to join it.

Expanding our trade with large, fast-growing markets is a priority. As the world’s second-largest economy, China presents many new opportunities for increased trade in goods and services, and investment. To this end, we have started exploratory discussions on the potential of launching negotiations toward a free trade agreement (FTA).

In parallel, the Government of Canada is asking the Canadian public and interested Canadian stakeholders to help define Canada’s interests in a possible FTA with China, and identify ways of maximizing the economic and social benefits of such an agreement. We want to hear from you and we commit to providing feedback on what we are hearing from you. The Government of Canada is committed to hearing from Canadians on this important subject and will ensure that Canadians continue to have the opportunity to provide their views as we engage with China, including through additional consultations in the event that Canada and China decide to move to formal FTA negotiations.

How do I participate?

Why is Canada holding consultations on a possible Canada-China FTA?

We want to hear from you. We need to hear your ideas, your experiences, and your priorities through these consultations.

Engaging with Canadians will be an important factor in the Government’s decision on whether to ultimately launch FTA negotiations, and for determining Canada’s objectives and approach to potential negotiations.

Who is invited to participate?

We want to hear the views of all Canadians, including:

• Individuals
• Businesses, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
• Industry associations
• Experts/Academics
• Civil society organizations and non-governmental organizations
• Labour unions
• Provincial, territorial and municipal governments
• Indigenous peoples
• Students and youth
• Any other interested Canadian stakeholders

What will be the focus of consultations?

The focus of consultations is to determine how Canada should best proceed regarding a possible FTA with China. This would include how to best improve market access, legal certainty and transparency for Canadian business, but also to understand any other related issues and concerns that are relevant when considering a possible FTA.

A Canada Gazette notice on consultations on a possible Canada-China FTA provides background information on the Canada-China FTA initiative, and lists areas for which the government is seeking your views. For those individuals that wish to provide their views directly online, complete the consultation form.

When and where will consultations take place?

Consultation activities, including the submission period for the Canada Gazette notice, will last 90 days, and end on June 2, 2017. The Government of Canada is committed to hearing from Canadians on this important subject and will ensure that Canadians continue to have the opportunity to provide their views as we engage with China, including through additional consultations in the event that Canada and China decide to move to formal FTA negotiations.

A list of upcoming and past consultation activities will be made available as events are confirmed.

Message from the Minister

As Canada’s Minister of International Trade, I would like to give you some exciting news related to our commercial relations with China.

Canada is a trading nation, and we have always set our sights overseas in search of new markets and new opportunities for our businesses.

Today, there are few places that offer us as many exciting opportunities for expanding growth and prosperity through trade and investment as the Asia Pacific region, and especially China.

As one of the largest, fastest growing economies in the world, China is an important part of the global economy, and an important partner for Canada.

Many Canadian companies have been doing business in China for nearly a century, and today our commercial relations are as strong as ever. In 2016, our bilateral trade with China reached $85.3 billion, and China is now Canada’s second largest single-country trading partner. Those numbers might sound impressive, but the reality is there is room for us to do a lot more.

That is why Canada and China have decided to begin exploratory discussions of a possible free trade agreement (FTA). These discussions will enable Canada to determine what issues or areas could be included in a potential agreement, and whether there is sufficient interest or economic benefits to pursue an FTA.

At the same time, and as part of our government’s pursuit of a progressive trade agenda, our government is committed to transparency, openness, and inclusiveness. Our government believes that Canadians should have a say in how we might proceed on such an important initiative. I therefore encourage you to provide us with your ideas - via our website, in person at an event or by mail - and input on how we should proceed in Canada’s in best interest, in a way that makes sense for all Canadians, and that will increase Canadian prosperity.

I look forward to hearing from you over the coming weeks and months. Thank you for your contribution.

The Honourable Francois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of International Trade

________________

LGCJ.: