Ms Suzanne Drisdelle:

I thank the Chair and the esteemed committee members for inviting the Embassy of Canada to this important discussion on CETA, the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement. I am the chargé d’affaires of the Embassy of Canada to Ireland. In my 20-year career with Global Affairs Canada, I have worked extensively with small companies, helping them to navigate international business. I am joined today by my colleague at the Mission of Canada to the European Union in Brussels, Reuben East. Mr. East has been a senior counsel and negotiator in several trade agreements, including CETA. We are very happy to be here today.

Although I am a “come from away”, as they say in Newfoundland, in my year and a half here in Ireland I have been very impressed with the warmth of the Irish people and with the resilience of my own community. Before the pandemic, not a day went by on which I did not meet someone who had a relative in Canada. Members may know that 4.5 million Canadians have Irish heritage, which represents approximately 14% of our population. Just last month, Canada’s House of Commons officially declared March as Irish Heritage Month, recognising the important contributions that Irish-Canadians have made to Canada.

We have a very strong relationship, which greatly benefits both of our countries, especially in the increasingly uncertain world in which we live. It is more important than ever that like-minded countries such as Ireland and Canada work together to address global issues. Canada greatly values its partnership with Ireland, the common approaches we take on many global issues such as climate change and environmental protection, as well as our shared commitment to multilateralism.

We both face challenges in our economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. We are both trading nations and our economic recovery depends on strengthening our global trade and investment partnerships. Our recovery also depends on the resilience of our small and medium-sized enterprises, SMEs. SMEs are the backbone of our economies. They make up the vast majority of Canadian and Irish exporters and face the greatest barriers to international trade. From my experience working with small companies and start-ups, I know that going global is very intimidating. Small companies often do not have the resources to do market research or to figure out things like customs regulations and business planning. I am sure many Irish companies can relate to this. SMEs stand to benefit the most from CETA’s tariff elimination, clear rules for goods and services exports and simplified customs procedures.

The economic benefits of CETA to Ireland are clear, starting with Ireland’s €1.6 billion trade surplus with Canada. Members will have seen the figures in the information we provided earlier. Since the agreement's provisional application, Irish exports to Canada have increased by 58%. There are many other statistics relating to other sectors including dairy, baked goods, textiles, whiskey and beef. There has been a 700% in beef exports since CETA came into effect and cheese exports have increased by 400%. In addition to the elimination of these tariffs, the other important thing about CETA relates to trade in services. There are many non-tariff elements to the agreement in areas such as procurement and labour mobility. These are of benefit to the services industry. Our two-way investment has also grown. Some 75 Canadian companies have opened an office or invested in Ireland, which has created 15,000 jobs so far.

CETA presents a major opportunity for Ireland and Canada to build on these benefits and create jobs in both countries. This will be especially relevant as both countries try to recover from the current pandemic.

Our nations understand the role international trade can play in projecting our core values in the international system, for example, climate action and gender equality. CETA is not just a trade agreement. It is a comprehensive and inclusive agreement with high standards for consumers and workers and upholds the high levels of labour and environmental protection that our citizens expect. CETA preserves the ability of Ireland and Canada to adopt and apply their own laws and regulations in the public interest such as the protection of public health, the environment and labour rights. It supports ongoing dialogue and collaboration on these topics through various advisory groups and an annual civil society forum. The question is not whether we need to hasten economic recovery but how we strengthen rules-based trade and increase predictability, stability and economic opportunity for our companies and countries. CETA upholds and promotes the values that Canada and Ireland share. Under the deeper economic and trade relationship enabled by CETA, Ireland and Canada can look forward to the next phase in the development of our partnership.

I thank members for their time and their initiation to join this important discussion. We can provide additional information if required and would be happy to answer members' questions.