Free Trade Agreement Information

September 14, 2009

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

It’s a great pleasure to rise in the House today to talk about the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement.

The previous government speaker outlined the various benefits of this Agreement to a number of key Canadian sectors…

From agriculture, to paper, to machinery.

I’d like to take this opportunity today to look at our relationship with Colombia through two different lenses…

The lens of “trade in services”…

And an “investment” lens. 

Let’s start with the benefits of this FTA to Canadian service providers.

As you know, Mr. Speaker, our services sector is an engine of our economy.

Financial services, legal services, engineering and architecture, high technology…

The list goes on and on.

In total, it’s responsible for 69 per cent of our gross domestic product…

And three in four Canadian jobs.

That’s why I’m so pleased to see that our Free Trade Agreement with Colombia opens up many new doors for Canada’s services sector.

Canadian service providers already have a substantial presence in the Colombian market.

Our services exports to Colombia are in the area of about $40-$50 million each year.

Driving these numbers are Canadian financial, mining, engineering and petroleum-extraction sectors.

Sectors like these stand to benefit greatly from the new FTA.

The agreement gives them greater access to the Colombian marketplace than ever before.

It also gives Canadian service providers an added measure of confidence.

They can now plan for the future, knowing that — under this Agreement — they’ll be treated the same as Colombian service providers. 

And they’ll enjoy a secure, predictable, transparent and rules-based trading environment.

Moreover, our two countries have agreed to begin discussions on “mutual-recognition agreements”…

Starting with engineering…

That allow for standards and qualifications to be recognized in each other’s country.

This will save service providers in both nations time and money…

And let them get to work more quickly in each other’s market. 

For these reasons, our FTA with Colombia provides a great opportunity to take our current trade-in-services to a new level in the years ahead…

And give our service providers new and improved access to an exciting global market, where their services are needed. 

Now I’d like to turn to the second “lens,” and look more closely at what the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement means for Canadian investors.

As you know, Mr. Speaker, two-way investment is absolutely critical driving force in today’s global economy.

Investment links our businesses to global value chains… 

And to the technology and expertise they need to forge a wide range of commercial links with our partners around the world.

That’s certainly the case here in Canada.

At the end of 2008, Canada was a net provider of foreign direct investment — or FDI — with the overall stock of Canadian FDI valued at about $637 billion.

The inward stock is impressive, too…

With foreign-held direct investment in Canada totalling $509 billion that same year.

So investment with our partners — inward and outward — is enormously important, Mr. Speaker.

That’s certainly the case with Colombia.

Thanks to the dedication of the current Colombian government, we’re seeing steady improvements in the security and stability of Colombia.

The Colombian workforce is also highly skilled, qualified and trained, giving global investors — including Canada — more and more confidence in the Colombian marketplace. 

These are just some of the factors driving Canadian investment into Colombia…
To the point where the stock of Canadian investment in Colombia reached $1.058 billion in 2008.

Even in today’s tough economic times, we expect this number to grow over the next two years…

Thanks in great part to Colombia’s burgeoning oil and gas and mining sectors…

And to Colombia’s great need for infrastructure.

These are just a few areas where Canada has significant interest and can offer a lot to our Colombian partners going forward.

So it should come as no surprise, Mr. Speaker, that our investment relationship with Colombia figured prominently in our free trade negotiations.

The Agreement establishes a stable legal framework that gives Canadian investors the predictability they need.

At the same time, strong obligations will ensure the free transfer of investment capital, and protect against expropriation.

It will also give investors access to transparent, binding and impartial dispute settlement processes.

In short, under the FTA, Canadian investors will be treated — with very few exceptions — just as well as Colombian investors.

For Colombian investment in Canada, we’ve taken steps to ensure that we maintain full policy flexibility in key areas — like health and public education.

So for Canadian and Colombian investors alike, the FTA offers an unprecedented level of stability, predictability and protection…

One that will help us take our investment relationship to a new level in the years ahead.

Mr. Speaker, from the outset of the global economic downturn, our Prime Minister has been very clear that trade and investment hold the key to helping the world economy recover.

That’s why our government is continuing to move forward on an aggressive Global Commerce Strategy that puts a strong focus on creating new partnerships with key nations around the world.

In these tough economic times, we need to be doing everything we can to open doors for Canadians…

To create new commercial opportunities around the world…

And to work with our partners to help our citizens succeed.

That includes our service providers and our investors.

That’s why I ask for all Honourable Members to show their support of the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement…

And everything it does to open doors for Canadians during this uncertain time.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.