Proceedings of the Standing Senate Committee on
Foreign Affairs and International Trade
Issue 24 - Evidence - Meeting of March 26, 2015
OTTAWA, Thursday, March 26, 2015
The Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade met this day at 10:32 a.m. to examine such issues as may arise from time to time relating to foreign relations and international trade generally (topic: trade promotion).
Senator A. Raynell Andreychuk (Chair) in the chair.
[English]
The Chair: The Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade has been empanelled to examine such issues as may arise from time to time relating to foreign relations and international trade generally. We are at the moment focusing in on the topic of trade promotion.
We have before us a very impressive panel. First, from Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada, Susan Bincoletto, Assistant Deputy Minister, International Business Development and Chief Trade Commissioner; from Export Development Canada, Johane Séguin, Sector Vice President, Extractive and Resources, Extractive Group; from the Canadian Commercial Corporation, Anthony Carty, Vice President Corporate Services and Chief Financial Officer; from Industry Canada, Shereen Benzvy Miller, Assistant Deputy Minister, Small Business, Tourism and Marketplace Services; and from Business Development Bank of Canada, Michel Bergeron, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Public Affairs. Welcome to the committee.
We have one hour, so I will turn to the presenters to make their opening statements and then senators will have questions. As I have indicated we are specifically looking at trade promotion, as it is, and anything that may be helpful in our study.
I understand that Ms. Bincoletto will start.
Susan Bincoletto, Assistant Deputy Minister, International Business Development and Chief Trade Commissioner, Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada: Thank you for the invitation to appear here been behalf of the Department of Foreign Affairs Trade and Development. I am with my colleagues who you have introduced. What I'm hoping is to show the committee how we work together to assist Canadian business to prepare for and succeed in international business.
Madam Chair, as chief trade commissioner, I head the Trade Commissioner Service, the government's network of around 1,000 trade professionals serving Canadian business in over 160 offices in Canada and abroad. Trade commissioners work to attract investment to Canada and help Canadian firms find markets, partners and investors abroad.
[Translation]
Trade promotion and negotiation are the key activities of the government's trade agenda, specifically the Global Markets Action Plan. Of interest to the committee, the plan focuses on small- and medium-sized enterprises, or SMEs, in particular, and it seeks to achieve an ambitious goal: that of nearly doubling, over a five-year period, the number of SMEs that export to emerging markets.
[English]
To help meet this ambitious target, last week Prime Minister Harper announced that the government was adding an estimated additional 20 trade commissioners to target priority markets and to assist Canadian business to take advantage of the opportunities in emerging markets. The government is also introducing a new program that will provide direct financial assistance Canadian companies seeking to enter or develop new export opportunities, especially in high-growth emerging markets. These initiatives will be particularly helpful in supporting SMEs by financing activities such as participation in trade fairs and missions and market research to create new business opportunities.
Our Trade Commissioner Service helps Canadian companies to gain better market intelligence, enhance their international business plans and identify key contacts, as well as provide general troubleshooting. We provide 200 services to companies on a daily basis. The value of our trade commissioners is their knowledge of the markets, sectors and clients' needs.
Another way of providing user-friendly support to Canadian companies is through collaboration with our partners, which include my colleagues at the table here and other federal, provincial and territorial ministries. We also work directly with trade associations and companies to help them take advantage of the benefits of recently concluded trade negotiations, such as the Canada-European Union: Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement and the Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement.
When it comes into force the CETA will improve access for Canadian companies to the world's largest integrated market, representing some 500 million customers and annual economic activity of $18 trillion. The trade commissioner is already active on the ground to equip Canadian companies with the knowledge, tools and support needed to take advantage of CETA from day one and secure a place in the EU market ahead of competitors from other countries.
[Translation]
Lastly, I would like to briefly mention the Go Global workshops led by Minister Fast. The purpose of this series of events in cities and communities across Canada is to make our businesses aware of international opportunities. Through these workshops, the minister has connected with more than a thousand SMEs interested in international business opportunities. These workshops include groups of experts on the tools, information and support provided by the Business Development Bank of Canada, Export Development Canada, the Canadian Commercial Corporation and the Trade Commissioner Service.
[English]
Thank you for your attention, and now I will turn to Ms. Benzvy Miller for her introductory remarks.
[Translation]
Shereen Benzvy Miller, Assistant Deputy Minister, Small Business, Tourism and Marketplace Services, Industry Canada: Good morning. I would like to begin by underscoring the importance of small- and medium-sized enterprises — or SMEs — to our economy.
[English]
SMEs account for more than 99 per of all businesses in Canada. They provide approximately 52 per cent of total private sector GDP and they account for 40 per cent of the value of exported goods. There are some 1.1 million SMEs across the country, and they are found in every sector. The vast majority of SMEs, 87 per cent, are very small with less than 20 employees. They are also job creators. Between 2002 and 2012, small businesses accounted for 78 per cent of new private sector jobs. Industry Canada's mandate is to help make Canadian industry more productive and competitive in the global economy, and this intersects directly with the interests of SMEs.
We work to ensure that our economic framework policies promote competition in innovation, support investment and entrepreneurial activity, and instill consumer and investor and business confidence. We encourage business innovation and productivity because businesses generate jobs and wealth creation.
[Translation]
More specifically, we take action to help SMEs overcome challenges, including those related to exporting. We are in an era of freer trade, reduced tariffs and ICTs that facilitate commerce across borders.
Exporting SMEs, on average, generate higher sales and return on assets, while undertaking more R and D activities than non-exporters. In other words, they participate in activities that are synonymous with growth.
[English]
We are focusing our efforts on three areas: venture capital, consulting, and supporting financing. We are increasing the ability of risk capital through the Venture Capital Action Plan. The Industrial Research Assistance Program from NRC helps by providing technology assistance to innovative SMEs and by working to commercialize Canadian products and services. The BDC provides consulting services to help SMEs get export ready and expand into international markets. It also provides about $4 billion each year in financing, including for those firms that export.
Thank you so much for the opportunity to speak with you regarding how we can better support Canadian SMEs.
Michel Bergeron, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Public Affairs, Business Development Bank of Canada: Good morning, Madam Chair and distinguished committee members. I am pleased to join you today for your discussion on trade promotion. I will explain how BDC helps Canadian SMEs face the challenge related to going global. First, let me share with you some important facts about BDC.
BDC is the only bank exclusively dedicated to entrepreneurs. As a complementary lender, we take more risk than chartered banks but not so much as to make us a lender of last resort. As per Treasury Board guidelines, we must be financially sustainable. In fact, we have paid dividends to the Government of Canada since 1997. BDC does not require support from taxpayers and does not receive appropriations from Parliament.
[Translation]
Our 30,000 clients generate $192 billion in annual sales, including $22 billion in exports, and employ 674,000 people across the country. Approximately 5,000, or 16 per cent, of our clients are exporters.
[English]
Expanding into foreign markets involves assuming a greater level of risk and requires a whole new host of resources and knowledge for the businesses to be successful. Recognizing these challenges, we have recently adjusted our offering to help entrepreneurs determine the right strategy for their objectives and to provide the required financial support to meet them. To help SMEs go global, BDC offers financing to enhance operational efficiency and productivity, increase innovation, and investments made abroad.
In addition to the financial service offering, we provide advisory services, including a three-step approach to international growth. First, we help SMEs assess their readiness to expand internationally. Second, we assist entrepreneurs in identifying the right foreign markets for their business. Third, we help SMEs develop go-to-market strategies for the specific regions.
A great example of one of our clients who expanded their business beyond Canadian borders is Kicking Horse Coffee, based in Invermere, B.C. After a first unsuccessful attempt at entering the U.S. market, BDC helped Kicking Horse to optimize their strategy. With both financing and consulting support, they have now successfully launched their organic and fair trade coffee into the U.S. market.
[Translation]
We coordinate our efforts with those of our federal partners, including EDC and DFATD, under the Global Markets Action Plan, and we contribute to the Trade Commissioner Service's Canadian Technology Accelerator program. Trade commissioners are posted in some of our business centres. A protocol is in place between BDC and EDC to facilitate the sharing of recommendations between the organizations, in accordance with the responsibilities of each.
[English]
BDC is proud to play its role in supporting the growth of Canadian SMEs and in helping more of them successfully enter global markets. You can be assured that BDC will not only continue to provide SMEs with the resources they need but also to strive to increase the awareness of the benefits of exporting and the services available to help them do so.
Thank you for your attention. It will be my pleasure to answer your questions.
[Translation]
Johane Séguin, Sector Vice-President, Extractive and Resources, Extractive Group, Export Development Canada: Thank you very much, Madam Chair. It's a pleasure to be here today on behalf of Export Development Canada and especially to be here alongside all our major partners in international trade promotion.
[English]
EDC is the official export credit agency of Canada. We are a Crown corporation. Our core business is to provide financial services — financing and insurance — to Canadian exporters and Canadian investors abroad, as well as to provide financing to buyers abroad of Canadian goods and services. In 2014, we accounted for over 7,400 companies and Canadian clients, 80 per cent of which are SMEs.
In terms of their activities, we get involved in insurance and financial products in more than 200 countries around the world. Our companies are reaching out to over 200 countries.
We are self-sustained and profitable, and we do not receive any appropriation from the government. It is quite the opposite, actually. In the last few years we have been providing dividends to the Government of Canada.
I'll say a few words about supporting trade promotion.
[Translation]
In addition to financial services, we provide considerable support when it comes to investment and export promotion abroad. We recognize that this is a key issue for the Canadian government, as well as our businesses and economy and, above all, that it can be difficult for SMEs to fully understand international markets. Together with our partners, we support four key activities that are not strictly financial in scope, but that also bring added value to those exporting abroad.
[English]
One of them is the match-making missions we do, especially with Trade Commissioner Service, other partners, as well as provinces and associations. We have fairly good knowledge of the capabilities that exists. Sometimes they are existing exporters and sometimes they don't export. We connect them with key selected foreign buyers, whom we study carefully to determine what they need, including the technology, and a match with a Canadian company. In 2014, we had more than 127 match-making events to match Canadian companies with foreign buyers. We have made 846 introductions to these foreign buyers, mainly SMEs of course.
We have another program in which EDC invests in equity funds abroad. It's mainly funds. We don't invest directly in companies abroad but in foreign funds. These funds have activities with foreign companies that are potential buyers from Canada. Again with them, we do matchmaking. For the specific program, we made 455 introductions of Canadian companies to these investment fund companies.
Another good tool that we have is linked to our financing and introduction of Canadian companies. We provide financing on a proactive basis or, if you will, a "pull" basis — large amounts to large companies that typically buy from Canada or are expecting to buy from Canada. So it is an incentive. We also provide an open door if they are interested in one or two or match-making events with Canadian companies. Along with our partners, we have the financing, the open door, and the introductions on a yearly basis of many Canadian companies.
We have 133 such "pull" financing facilities for foreign buyers. We've done 25 specific match-makings with those companies, which benefit from our financing, and we've introduced several hundred Canadian companies to those foreign buyers.
The last one is that we proactively reach out to our SMEs in Canada that are not existing clients and that we know are exporting, to let them know EDC is there to reduce their risk, and I can chat more about our services in terms of financial services. Do they want to reduce their risk, have access to more capital to export even more? We have a special initiative to reach out to them.
[Translation]
I will stop there. I would be happy to answer any questions you may have, in English or in French. Thank you very much.
[English]
Anthony Carty, Vice President Corporate Services and Chief Financial Officer, Canadian Commercial Corporation: Thank you, Madam Chair and members of the committee. My name is Anthony Carty, with the Canadian Commercial Corporation. I'm the vice-president of corporate services and the chief financial officer, and I'm pleased to speak with you this morning about how CCC helps small and medium enterprises in trade promotion.
CCC is the Government of Canada's international contracting agency. It was formed approximately 70 years ago with a mandate to assist in trade promotion and the development of trade between Canada and other nations.
Since 1956, CCC has also been the Government of Canada's custodian of the Canada-United States Defence Production Sharing Agreement, or DPSA. The DPSA supports over half a billion dollars a year in defence and security trade between Canada and the U.S., and it has often been the platform that Canadian companies have used, particularly for SMEs, to build their capacity to compete and generate other global sales.
CCC's business model is unique in the world. The corporation's primary service involves the establishment of government-to-government contracts with foreign government buyers to provide goods and services available for export from Canada. In turn, CCC enters into contracts with Canadian exporters to fulfill the requirements of the contracts. With this approach, CCC guarantees the performance of the terms and conditions of the contracts for the foreign government buyers, hence mitigating the risks and providing added incentive to procure from Canada.
CCC's business model also mitigates risk for Canadian exporters, particularly SMEs, as the corporation is able to leverage its capacity as a Government of Canada organization to monitor progress and bring resolution to any issues that may arise in fulfilling the contract requirements. CCC's involvement can reduce payment collection risks and business development costs, aid in gaining more advantageous contract and payment terms for all Canadian exporters, but particularly for SMEs, and help to increase international awareness through supporting and promoting ethical business and corporate social responsibility, or CSR, practices as Canadian firms seek to increase their international sales.
CCC works with SMEs primarily in three ways. It supports SMEs in direct government-to-government contracting opportunities. For example, in 2013-14, our last fiscal year, CCC had contracts or pursuits with over 115 Canadian SMEs, largely through its role as Canada's custodian of the DPSA.
Second, CCC works closely with Canada's primary defence and security exporters, and encourages them to use and maximize Canadian content in their supply chains. While these indirect SME-impact figures are not reflected in our performance measures, the connection to CCC is well understood across the defence and security industry.
Finally, CCC has also begun enhancing its engagement with SMEs on a broader scale, through increased participation and profile at domestic and international trade show events and strengthening domestic outreach in collaboration with industry-sector organizations, such as CADSI, AIAC, CME and other Government of Canada stakeholders in trade, such as Western Economic Diversification.
Thank you for your time this morning, and I would be happy to answer any questions with respect to CCC.
The Chair: Thank you. You have all been very efficient with your time. We do have a number of questioners.
Senator Downe: With all of this support for our business community, why does the trade deficit continue to be so high?
Ms. Bincoletto: That's not part of my Qs and As.
I won't address the trade deficit specifically, but clearly we are a nation that is very dependent on trade. What we're trying to do is to focus the orientation of our entrepreneurs to increase their level of ambition on exporting.
We are very dependent on the U.S. market. Seventy per cent, if not more, of our SMEs, if this is the focus of this conversation, export to the U.S. There is the proximity. There is the cultural and linguistic similarity. The rule of law is also very similar, so it is much easier to do that.
The dollar was fairly high until recently, which would have impacted the competitive advantage of some of our companies, but this could be changed with the dollar having been lowered in recent months.
Doing business abroad, especially in Asia and in countries where, again, the environment is maybe a little bit more complex, makes it difficult for our companies to actually create the advantage for them, and that might explain part of the situation for Canada.
Senator Downe: All governments in the last 20, 30, 40 years, in fact going back to Prime Minister Diefenbaker who tried to move more trade to the United Kingdom from the United States, have recognized the problem, and one of the solutions has been to sign as many trade deals as we can all around the world. When you look some of those deals and our trade balance prior to signing the free trade agreement and after, it has contributed to the trade deficit. With Mexico, for example, we had a trade deficit of $2.9 billion. At the end of 2012, it was $20 billion. With Israel, before we signed the deal, our trade deficit was $26 million, and at the end of 2012 it was $879 million. More recently, for Peru, where we signed a deal in 2009, the trade deficit was $2.1 billion before we signed, and afterwards it was $3.2 billion by the end of 2012.
That tells me a couple of things. It tells me that the other countries appeared to be much more prepared for the trade deal and had more assistance to enter the Canadian market than we were providing to our businesses. So what is the problem? Is it that our businesses are too conservative? Is the American market too easy? Should we be signing these trade deals if these are the results we are getting?
Ms. Bincoletto: I would start by saying that we negotiate these trade deals because we want a level playing field, and we want to make sure that the conditions are there for our companies to actually be treated the same way as everybody else, especially the domestic industry. Many factors affect the level engagement of our Canadian companies in those markets, but I believe that without free trade agreements or investment agreements, we would start on a more disadvantaged footing than if we had them.
It's true that it's been said that our Canadian entrepreneurs may lack the level of ambition to go out there and take on the risks. That's why, I think, around this table you have the partners from the federal government that are in the business of trying to de-risk. There has to be some increased awareness: If you want to prosper, you must export or invest abroad. That is part of my mandate as chief trade commissioner, to go out in the country to try to increase that level of visibility of what is available and the level of awareness of the benefits of it.
Some other challenges relate to financing. Whether it's BDC or EDC, they are trying to create the conditions so that if it is a lack of financing, it becomes more available for SMEs to go and do business abroad.
There is the contractual side. In some countries you need government-to-government relations. Whether it's people-to-people or government-to-government or whether it's in infrastructure or defence and security, the CCC plays a role. It is by trying to align all of these efforts that we're hoping to change the mindset of some of our companies and make them take more advantage of both diversification — not be so U.S-dependent — and also the benefits of trade agreements.
Senator Downe: I hear from veterans, when they deal with the Department of Veterans Affairs, for example, that there are not enough people that wore the uniform that understand what they've gone through. I hear the same criticism from business people that the people they are dealing with have not actually participated in or run a business.
In this committee, we hear from many witnesses. One of the groups we've heard from a few times is the Saskatchewan STEP program, I believe, which basically has privatized a lot of this work. They involve public servants, but it's business led. Is there any consideration in the Government of Canada, in an attempt to improve these trade figures, of moving to a more private sector model for business needs?
Ms. Bincoletto: I would answer this in two ways. First, we have in the Trade Commissioner Service people who have extreme business acumen. There is an ongoing training and consultation with the business community to be conversant in understanding and reflecting the challenges of the private sector. There is clearly that connection.
The second part of the answer is that we now have 27 trade commissioners embedded. Instead of being in our regional offices, they are embedded in trade associations. We have some in CADSI, in the aerospace association and in agriculture fields so they can be better connected to the associations, representing members, and be in contact with those members and able to respond better to their needs.
It is a different model that we put in place about a year and a half ago to make us in the Trade Commissioner Service be more relevant and responsive to the needs of the private sector.
Ms. Benzvy Miller: The government also recognizes the importance of mentorship by business entrepreneurs of other entrepreneurs. We know, for instance, that for enterprises that have mentors involved, they are much more likely to succeed at the five-year mark than those who don't. Without a mentor, 50 per cent of all businesses will fail before the five-year mark. With a mentor, 88 per cent will succeed.
One of the things we do is represent a program called FuturpreneurCanada, which helps young entrepreneurs with financing, but they also have mandatory mentorship for two years by other entrepreneurs. There are at least 3,000 entrepreneurs who have signed up to be mentors who have been successful in their sectors.
[Translation]
Senator Fortin-Duplessis: Thank you for your presentations. The work you do is extremely important to the future of our SMEs and businesses looking to export their products. Ms. Bincoletto, my first question has to do with the government's announcement that it will deploy 20 new trade commissioners. Will those trade commissioners be assigned to priority markets, and do you know which markets they will be deployed to?
Ms. Bincoletto: As you know, that announcement was made last week.
Senator Fortin-Duplessis: Yes.
Ms. Bincoletto: We are still in a bit of shock, to tell you the truth. It's terrific news. We're delighted to have the opportunity to deploy additional trade commissioners to high-growth markets. We are in the midst of figuring out which markets have gaps, emerging or otherwise, and evaluating which measures would benefit, either generally or specifically, businesses interested in receiving more support from us.
What we are going to have to do, then, is assess the economic growth of those countries, as well as our capacity, here in Canada, to leverage those opportunities, while taking into account recently concluded free trade agreements, such as the ones with Europe and South Korea, to determine whether needs exist in that regard as well. The idea is always to connect Canadian businesses with people on site who can help them achieve commercial success in those markets. The short answer is we don't yet know, but we are working on it.
Senator Fortin-Duplessis: The Global Markets Action Plan, or GMAP, identifies 80 markets, including EU countries, that are thought to hold the greatest promise for Canadian businesses. Do you think the GMAP should focus on fewer priority markets in order to more effectively target the federal trade promotion and economic diplomacy programs?
Ms. Bincoletto: The GMAP was introduced less than 18 months ago, so it would be premature to assess its effectiveness at this point. That being said, the potential for Canada to benefit from cooperation with those countries was one of the considerations in identifying those 80 markets. In some cases, there is widespread interest among Canadian businesses across a number of sectors to participate in those countries' economies, be it through exports or investments, or to attract investment from those countries. In other cases, the interest is more specific.
My colleague, here, is the senior vice-president of the extractive sector, and she can tell you that Peru is an extremely significant market to the mining industry overall, as is Tanzania. An analysis was performed to assess the extent to which Canada would benefit from a stronger partnership with each of those 80 countries.
Senator Fortin-Duplessis: Are you involved in the process to determine whether the resources and geographic locations of trade commissioners are aligned with Canada's trade interests?
Ms. Bincoletto: Absolutely. That is my main function. Together with our department colleagues who are responsible for the geographic regions, we developed a model to determine whether the trade commissioner program is over-represented or under-represented in certain embassies and consulates general in an effort to better target those services, while also taking into account the region's economic and political circumstances.
Senator Fortin-Duplessis: A big thanks to the entire team. Thank you, Madam Chair.
[English]
Senator Eaton: Yes, you are certainly an array of expertise, and we're very grateful that you're doing what you're doing. I want to follow up on Senator Downe's question.
We have heard from previous testimony, when we had small businesses appear before us, how difficult it is to work through the maze of export banking services. For instance, if I have an SME and I think I have this great product and I want to export, do I go to Export Canada to find a mentor and you're all there? If you're a small business and don't have a lot of expertise or experience, is it as difficult to navigate as they all seem to claim?
Mr. Bergeron: We've been doing a lot of work mutually in terms of improving the respective understanding of what each organization offers. As an example, with EDC and BDC, in the context of the memorandum of understanding, all of our employees have been trained on EDC offerings and vice versa so that whenever they encounter small business owners they are aware as to where they should be referred. You're right to say they could be perceived as being complex, but once you understand exactly how it works and you have appropriate and competent people who are able to identify and pinpoint to the right organization, it works well.
Initially from the outside it may look complex, but that's why we have trade commissioners in our offices. It's not an easy task, but we work constantly to improve the understanding.
Senator Eaton: Has there never been the thought of putting up a website between all of you for something easy like Export Canada where I, as an inexperienced, non-technical person, could begin the journey for not a lot of cost? We heard again from small businesses about the beachhead costs, the distance, the cultural differences — all those many things. You're all experts in your fields, but sometimes you don't realize how little people on the street understand.
Mr. Bergeron: Yes.
Ms. Benzvy Miller: Absolutely. That's such a great question. Probably one of our biggest challenges is ensuring that people get the information they need when they need it, in a way that is client focused so they don't have to struggle to find it.
One the challenges is to do it in disparate set of sectors and also in the various life cycles and needs of a business, whether you are a startup or a high-growth business in a certain sector.
We have something called the Canada Business Network, which is intended to target exactly this problem. We have a website called Canadabusiness.ca which is easily navigated and speaks to businesses where they are in their development. If you're ready for export you can go to the ready for export section, but if you're a start-up you'll have the start-up section. All of the services have been linked.
We try to use all the technology we can to push it out. In fact, I can proudly tell you that as of last week we have more than 100,000 businesses following us on Twitter because we tweet this as a service twice a day to try and make it easy for businesses to get this information where they need it. If you need it on your phone in a truck, you're getting your tweets there. That's one of the biggest challenges, so the more we can raise awareness about those services the better it is.
Obviously there are other services, depending on where you're at. BDC, for instance, has consulting services to help businesses know what they don't know, and IRAP technology readiness has technology assistance.
Senator Eaton: I can find that all very easily on a website?
Ms. Benzvy Miller: Yes, and each of those services then have their own hand-holding mechanisms or things to guide people through the morass of choices they might have.
Mr. Bergeron: If I may add, one last element is that within in the content of our website we cross link between the organizations. If somebody comes to our website we have information there, and we will also direct them either to EDC or the Trade Commissioner Service. We do this respectively between our organizations.
Ms. Benzvy Miller: And we've tried to do it with the provincial organizations as well. For instance, for licence and permits we have BizPaL, which blurs the line between provincial, municipal and federal permits and licensing requirements for businesses in various sectors.
Senator Eaton: That's very useful, thank you very much. That will be helpful in our report.
This is probably very obvious, given your good answer, but there are cultural differences between parts of the world. We now have the CETA free trade agreement, which is probably very familiar and culturally very easy for us.
ASEAN countries, if we go into the TPP, if that works out, are there huge cultural differences in the way you approach each of those free-trade zones? Have you thought of that? Is that already inherent in what you have to offer SMEs?
Ms. Bincoletto: The trade commissioners in our missions are there to help SMEs showcase in a cultural way that is going to resonate their value proposition, which is the products.
Senator Eaton: If I'm sitting in Montreal and I approach you or go on the line, is somebody there going to say to me, "Well, if you're going to Asia or Bulgaria you have two different strategies"?
Ms. Bincoletto: We have regional offices as well. In Canada there are two entry points: either the trade commissioners' regional offices where companies can go and have face-to-face discussions about their level of export readiness or the challenges. If they know they want to go to China or India, what should they know? They are the ABCs of doing business in India. There are clear guidelines. EDC has a lot of that on their website as well about the dos and don'ts in specific countries. There is face-to-face interaction with regional offices, and then the regional offices can connect them with the trade commissioners in those countries. They're just an email away and will say, "You need a contact, a local partner; you need to make sure you have your presentations translated, and you need to have a translator on site if you want to go." There are a number of areas where we can help to ease the transition into a foreign market.
Then there are the headquarters. We have sectoral experts that can zoom in, especially for companies that have very specific niche products or services, and see whether there is a market for them.
Our asset base is our network of people who can connect the dots and connect and cross refer to some of our colleagues who say that in that country it's better if you do it via government-to-government contract. Therefore we connect them with the partners that can actually open doors for them.
The website is one, but there's also the very real, human, face-to-face interaction. Through the training that we all have about each other, our trade commissioners and my colleagues know who to direct the information to so that the answer is not to call another number, or that "It's not me; it's someone else."
Mr. Bergeron: As I mentioned, one of the new solutions we've launched recently is helping with market selections. If we have work with an SME that says they're willing and ready to go global, often the next question will be, "Where should I go?"
We have defined a structured process that looks at market studies, trade flows, but also the complexity of markets. Based on the competencies they have internally, we help them prioritize the markets they should be focusing on. The important thing is not to focus on ten; focus on one or two and pursue those markets. That analysis provides a lot of support in helping to ensure they make the right choices.
Senator Eaton: Listening to you all, I don't know why we don't have a lot more SMEs, because you make it sound nice and easy. Thank you very much.
The Chair: I shouldn't offend them and say there are a lot of new programs they'll want to evaluate yet.
Senator D. Smith: Yesterday our witness was Dan Ciuriak, who was once part of your group and is now a private sector consultant. I think we should provide a transcript of his evidence yesterday.
The Chair: It's available. I'm sure she'll reach for it.
Senator D. Smith: I was making a suggestion, and you may want to respond to some of the points made in there. In a nutshell, he was saying the Canadian companies that help the most are the smaller ones that, for the most part, can't afford the costs of promotion.
Over 30 years ago I was actually the minister of small business for about 15 months, and I heard a lot of the same messages. We didn't have all the high-tech stuff that we have now that they can get on the Web, but sometimes it just doesn't change.
I really hope you have — and I'd like you to respond to this — more people in your group that have a private sector background because you need it. You really need it. How do you go about ensuring that we have private sector people very active in your group?
Ms. Bincoletto: I can start and Michel, I'm sure, will have views.
We try to recruit from business schools, people who may not already be in the labour force but clearly have business education first. Then we have a very sophisticated training program where we go and make sure that our trade commissioners meet with industry associations, with companies, to understand their challenges.
Our strength is the deep level of knowledge and sectoral expertise of the Canadian companies, and that takes time. It takes continuous effort to understand, go to conferences, go to trade fairs, go and meet companies. Part of the day-to-day life of a trade commissioner is to make those connections and have those interactions so that they understand.
Senator D. Smith: How do you get them into your department? It's one thing to talk to them, and it's another thing to get them in your department and have first-hand experience in the private sector.
For about 10 years I was on the board of the biggest private sector bank in India. Of the four biggest ones, three were government ones and one was private sector.
In terms of the business they did, on average the government banks had three times as many employees as did the private sector one, so you know which one was by far the most profitable. It's a different mind culture.
Do you have a really active program where you're getting people in from the private sector with that experience? Do you really have a program that's effectively working?
Ms. Benzvy Miller: Yes, one example would be the NRC IRAP. The ITAs, which are the technology assistance people who work in the concierge service, are all people who have worked in innovation, development and R&D. They understand technology readiness and how to commercialize. They are there to guide businesses through that process.
We don't necessarily think that the solution is always to have the expertise in house but rather to fund it in the actual industrial sectors or, for instance, the way we're funding incubators and accelerators. The idea is to get entrepreneurs together in spaces where they can evolve and learn lessons from each other, so not to rely on the government to do it for them but to have entrepreneurs work together. We fund a lot of that in recognition of the fact that there is really no substitute for real on-the-ground learning.
Senator D. Smith: I would re-emphasize a point that I think Senator Downe was making, and others here, that the more private sector experienced people you've got, the better you will do. It's a reality; it's a different mindset. I've lived in both worlds and it's a different mindset.
Ms. Benzvy Miller: And we agree.
Mr. Bergeron: As an example, in our venture capital activity, more than 50 per cent of our investors, venture capitalists, used to run businesses, were entrepreneurs, were CTOs, CMOs, so a lot of very hands-on experience. On the consulting side, they all come from the private sector, and in fact there's a constant movement between BDC, private and coming back to BDC. It's the same for our bankers; a large proportion used to work in private banks. We do encourage that, because you're right to say that it allows them to have a better understanding in terms of the entrepreneurs we have.
Senator D. Smith: I think the more you do it the better numbers will get, and they need to be better.
Ms. Bincoletto: We're organized by sector. We have a global sector lead, someone from the private sector, who is in charge of interacting with the industry but also developing an annual sector strategy that will then become our road map for each sector, someone who is a serial entrepreneur, an expert and has done a lot of private sector business within that sector to tell us what exactly is.
We have different models. Maybe they're not employees, but we have different models to capture that centre of expertise.
Ms. Séguin: I don't know if the question was also directed to EDC. At EDC we're bankers. We have a lot of bankers coming from the banking environment, the private sector environment. We function very much like a private bank as well internally. We have our business development crew, which is spread throughout 17 representations. In Canada there are business development people. They are connected with private companies on a daily basis, understanding them, understanding their needs, analyzing them.
We have, of course, our analysts, our financial analysts understanding financially the companies inside out. We have new MBAs and many representatives coming from the private sector that join EDC as well.
[Translation]
Senator Demers: Thank you kindly for your presentation.
[English]
I got back from Washington last night after having spent three days with Senator Johnson regarding trade. Canada and U.S., $2 billion a day, and a lot of them didn't even know that.
Keystone came up a lot, but some of the things that I really notice is they're willing to listen but there seems to be a lack of communication, and I think you touched on that a little bit.
Both sides, the Republicans, Democrats, and we even met some people from the Tea Party, were very open to working with us, different states. But one thing is a major problem that could be resolved by the U.S., as you know.
Where do you see this going? They talk about Asia, their concern about China and India, which was mentioned, but they would like to keep it on this side. What do you see in means of communication in the growth between the 33 million people here and the 333 million in the States? What do you see in means of communication working more closely together?
Ms. Bincoletto: From my perspective, we have a big diplomatic footprint in the United States. We have very vocal and experienced ambassadors who clearly put Canada on the map. So the Canada brand is alive and well.
We are a smaller partner than the U.S. is for Canada, and we need to be cognizant of that and put a lot of energy into branding Canada as a technology hub, as having high-skilled workers, low corporate taxes, things that are currently perhaps taken for granted but need to be reinforced and strengthened in terms of messaging.
We do have branding exercises. We have an "Invest in Canada" group that really goes around the world to try and attract investments, and the U.S. market is clearly one that is very important for us.
We operate in the U.S. in a way that is very much innovation focused. In a sense, we use the U.S. not necessarily an export market but as a partnership market so we can strengthen our economic integration, and that is something we're working on as well.
The U.S. market will always be the major market for us, and we attach the necessary importance to make sure that we're top of mind for the U.S. just as they are for us.
Senator Demers: There was talk about what's going on in California right now with the beef. In Canada we're talking about, "Well, we won't buy your wine," which is hundreds of millions a year. What is your thinking on that?
I wasn't there alone. We had people from the Liberals, people from the House of Commons, and what we got after meeting is that anything can be negotiated. You don't shut the door to anything. You always have an open mind.
What is your thinking on that? Is this something that makes good sense, what I'm asking you?
Ms. Bincoletto: I think this is above my pay grade. I will let the experts who are dealing with these bilateral issues answer that.
Senator Demers: Okay. Thank you.
Senator Oh: I'm going to shift subjects from export/import to tourism.
Tourism is important to every country, the clean air, being pollution free. We will be celebrating the one hundred fiftieth birthday of Canada in a year and a half, and with the low Canadian dollar now, it's the best time to really step up our tourism trade.
Every full flight that comes into Canada creates 100 jobs in the hospitality business. It's very important for taxi drivers to limousine drivers to restaurants to hotels, local, big city, small city.
Have we spent enough money to promote Canada? Now we have a lot of direct flights from all over the world, and the airports in Vancouver and Toronto are busy. Is there any way we can step up on this? This is the easiest, the fastest way to see results in the form of economic growth.
Ms. Benzvy Miller: I have to say that's music to my ears as the ADM for tourism for Canada. Tourism is a serious business. It's $86 billion a year. It's one of the largest employers across the country at about 600,000 jobs and really the industry that employs the most youth. Often people's first job is somewhere in the tourism sector. It is a very diverse sector, and it's coast to coast to coast and across rural and urban centres. It is something we recognize as being of great importance.
The Canada brand is very well recognized around the world, so we start from a position of privilege. Often if you go out and do a survey of people of what countries they want to visit on their bucket list, Canada comes up in the top two or top three because the U.S. kind of — the U.S. has a very large marketing firm. They call it Hollywood, but you'll never compete with that kind of marketing.
The Canadian Tourism Commission works in various jurisdictions to promote the Canada brand abroad, but on the federal level, one of the things my department is responsible for is the federal tourism strategy because in order to promote tourism and increase the number of people who come on those airplanes, we need transport agreements and airport access. We need to ensure that the border and visa systems are working well and that people can actually get access to tourist visas to come to Canada. So we work closely through the Federal Tourism Strategy with our 20 partners in the federal government to make sure that things are well aligned to promote tourism to Canada and make it is as barrier free as we can.
The Chair: We were talking about wanting a level playing field, and that's one of the reasons we sign up for free trade agreements. That's because those businesses that are already attracted to a particular market want to have a level playing field.
Is there, then, a special program directed to new possible industries in that area? I think Senator Downe touched on STEP. They will look at where Canada is signing a free trade agreement and determine the pulse crops, for example, will do well if we get that free trade agreement, so they're part of the lobby to get the free trade agreement.
Now that they have the free trade agreement, what are the new businesses that might now have a level playing field that they should be competing in but didn't go into it because it wasn't level? Is there a special program to target that kind of awareness?
Ms. Bincoletto: The Prime Minister announced such a program last week, one that is targeted, in a sense, at Canadian business. It's $50 million over five years for companies either when they are first-time exporters or continuing exporters that would require direct financial assistance to go to meetings or participate in trade fairs or in missions, to actually be able to explore those opportunities. We used to have a similar program many years ago.
We also have a program that is for associations wherein we give them a contribution. They bring companies to countries and we do a bit of what my colleague at EDC mentioned, match-making. We have interested buyers in those countries, and then our Canadian companies do that.
Our SMEs find that they don't have the deep pockets they need to do much of the exploratory work to find the opportunities, and therefore this program will be cost-sharing. They will put forward a portion of the money and the federal government will support them so they can go, in certain markets that make sense to them for their products or services, to try and find clients or partners to internationalize their operations.
That is the reason for the announcement last week. It is a program to help companies do exactly what you're saying, either in countries where trade agreements have just been concluded, or any other countries that make sense for the individual company.
The Chair: I'm more interested in what you do in your department. After a free trade agreement, do you then follow up on how there may be opportunities for sectors that had not been identified before?
Ms. Bincoletto: Yes. In that case, we are a hub. We work with our regional offices that are our eyes and ears in the regions, to see which companies we should be targeting that may have a comparative advantage in those markets. We work with our regional development agencies that are present in those areas in Canada. We work with what we call our posts, our missions, the embassies, et cetera, who know where the opportunities are and then we bring that together.
A piece of paper of a free trade agreement is one thing; then it has to be brought to life through the network of match-making and raising awareness and trying to support them in their endeavours in targeted markets where we think there are opportunities, including where there are free trade agreements.
The Chair: Thank you.
We've covered a lot of ground and we could probably spend more time pursuing these issues, but we've run out of time. I would like to thank all of you for your contributions. It has been extremely helpful in our study of trade promotion.
We have asked members of Citizenship and Immigration Canada to appear before the committee. We have before us Mr. Robert Orr, Assistant Deputy Minister, Operations; Ms. Angela Gawel, Director General, International Region; and Ms. Caitlin Imrie, Director General, Passport Operational Coordination.
We have asked you to come before us on trade because every time we talk trade, we hit an issue called visas. It seems not to be centred in any region of the world; it has a more universal context. In fact, some of us who carry on in foreign policy hit this issue of trade and visa impediments as people see them. Sometimes it may be misunderstanding and sometimes it may be actual impediments. We wanted you to come before us to give us an opportunity to look at the issue from your perspective and trade, particularly. Welcome to the committee.
Mr. Orr, you are making the opening comments. The floor is yours.
[Translation]
Robert Orr, Assistant Deputy Minister, Operations, Citizenship and Immigration Canada: I am pleased to have the opportunity today to appear before this committee.
[English]
Issuing visas and passports are some of the core services of Citizenship and Immigration Canada. In order to best serve visa applicants and Canadians, we are always focused on improving our services and screening methods.
[Translation]
Our front-line immigration officers play a crucial role in protecting the health and security of Canadians, and in ensuring the integrity of our immigration system. It is the duty of these officers to use their expertise and all available information to assess the admissibility of every individual who wishes to acquire a temporary resident visa to visit our country. This is a tremendous responsibility that our officers around the world carry out with professionalism and with a dedication to service.
That being said, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, or CIC, strives to deliver the best possible service to visa applicants and to process applications as quickly as possible.
[English]
Last year, CIC issued a record number of visas in the world's key markets. In 2014, Canada issued more visas than ever before to people from China, well over 360,000; in India, 152,000; Brazil, 79,000; and Mexico, 78,000 visas. These record-setting numbers were enabled by a number of methods to facilitate legitimate trade and travel.
[Translation]
With all of these changes, we aim to make the visa application process simpler and more efficient for visitors to Canada. We understand the importance of travellers to the Canadian economy, trade, tourism and Canadians themselves.
[English]
As an example, in 2011 we extended the duration of multiple-entry visas from 5 to 10 years. This means that holders of such visas, generally low-risk travellers from visa-required countries, can now come and go as they please from Canada over ten years, as long as they don't stay for more than six months at a time. In fact, multiple entry visas are now the default issued to most visitors and, indeed, were issued to over 90 per cent of visitors to Canada last year. Multiple-entry visas are a good example of how CIC is cutting red tape for visitors while continuing to responsibly manage our borders.
[Translation]
This last point is important because, with all of our temporary resident visa policies and programs, we strive to strike a balance. We must facilitate the arrival of visitors to Canada — who bring with them all of their obvious benefits to our country — while we protect the health, security and safety of our citizens and residents.
[English]
Striking this balance is not always easy. We're committed to publishing our processing times and respecting our service standards, which is 14 days for visitor visas. We also continue to improve our policies and services to make it easier and faster for visitors to come to Canada. One important expression of this commitment has been the role of global online submission of applications for temporary residents. Since 2013, through this e-app, applicants for temporary resident visas, study permits or work permits have been able to complete their entire application online, 24/ 7, from almost anywhere in the world.
A third major service improvement has been the expansion of our global network of visa application centres, or VACs. By increasing our number of VACs around the world, we are facilitating the process of applying for visas and travelling to Canada. We are now offering more points of service to applicants around the world. Currently, CIC has more than 132 VACs in 94 countries. These third-party service providers ensure that visa applications are complete. This leads to more efficient processing by reducing the number of incomplete applications that must be returned to applicants.
[Translation]
The Business Express Program is another great example of our commitment to facilitate travel and trade, which expedites business travel from key global markets such as China, India and Mexico.
As well, there is the CAN+ program, which expedites visa processing for applicants from Mexico and India. These applicants must demonstrate that they have previously travelled to Canada or the United States in the last 10 years, and they do not normally need to provide proof of financial support.
[English]
By fast-tracking the movement of legitimate travellers, CAN+ is freeing up visa officers to work on more complex cases, and as a result the program is improving overall processing times for all travellers. For CAN+ travellers, visas are typically issued within a few days.
When the electronic travel authorization, or ETA, is implemented — likely next year — we will be able to screen most visitors before they board a plane to verify whether or not they pose a risk to Canada or to the health, safety and security of Canadians. Resolving issues prior to a traveller's arrival at a port of entry will also facilitate the movement of legitimate travellers by helping to improve border efficiencies.
In addition to these efforts, CIC continually strives to improve our passport issuance service for Canadians. Once again, however, this involves a delicate balance between meeting our security needs while we aim to deliver the fastest and most efficient services possible.
[Translation]
In recent years, Passport Canada has improved passport technology and application processes to meet new and evolving security needs and a higher demand for passports.
In 2013-14, we issued more than 4.9 million passports to Canadians at home and abroad, and we met our service standards of both 10 and 20 days more than 99 per cent of the time.
[English]
As of July 1, 2013, all new Canadian passports issued are 36-page electronic passports, or e-passports, that contain an electronic chip that enhances other security features. By adding an extra layer of identity verification, e-passports contribute to enhanced border security while facilitating travel for Canadians.
When we launched the new e-passport, Canadians were given the opportunity to apply for a 10- or 5-year validity, and since July 2013, more than 80 per cent of adult applicants have chosen the 10-year validity option. Since July, we have issued 5.8 million passports with a 10-year validity.
Also, as part of modernization efforts, we are working towards online application for Canadians who are eligible to apply through the domestic simplified renewal process. Over time, this will expand our service channel for those Canadians who prefer to use the convenience of online services.
[Translation]
Madam Chair, in my remarks, I have tried to give a broad overview of CIC's efforts to improve our services for visitors to Canada and Canadians.
[English]
We would be pleased to respond to any questions you may have.
The Chair: Thank you, sir. I understand there is a short question from Senator Fortin-Duplessis.
[Translation]
Senator Fortin-Duplessis: In terms of issuing visas, whether to foreign students or others, have you put special measures in place further to the attacks that have been happening around the world? Have you stepped up security? I'll wait for you to answer, but I must apologize as my colleague Nicole Eaton and I are expected at another meeting.
[English]
Mr. Orr: Thank you very much for the question. Indeed, we take security screening of all applicants extremely seriously, be they a temporary or a permanent resident, and, indeed, through the citizenship program and passport program. A very rigorous process is applied to all classes of visa applicants throughout. Visa officers, both overseas and within Canada, are trained to perform these duties, and we work very closely with partners throughout the Government of Canada to ensure that we do respond to any security concerns.
Senator Eaton: I'd like to ask a supplementary question. Regarding security, are visas easy to forge?
Mr. Orr: The simple answer to that question would be no. The counterfoils that we use have a number of very sophisticated security measures contained within them. We work very closely to ensure that we're keeping ahead of the latest trends in fraud so that we do that.
Some years ago there were issues where it was difficult, but we are employing increasingly sophisticated methods to ensure that visas are very secure. They are produced by the Canadian Bank Note Company and are kept very closely, a very close inventory within all offices that hold them and so on. It is something we take extremely seriously. We are quite confident the visa is very difficult to forge or be abused, in that sense, the physical document.
Senator Downe: We were told recently that all the APEC countries except the United States and Canada allow their members a one-month visa, sort of like a NEXUS card, if you will, an automatic business visa to do business. The fact that Canada has not joined that program has impacted our business community. Are you aware of that?
Mr. Orr: I can't respond to that question specifically, but I will say that we are very conscious of various methods used by different countries to encourage and facilitate travel. I think we're quite confident that we, too, are facilitating travel in a variety of different ways. It may not be exactly the same way that other countries use, but we are doing our utmost to ensure that we are really doing our best to facilitate the travel.
I tried to indicate that through the use of mechanisms such as CAN+, this facilitative program, a business express program that we also have, and through the use of things like the electronic application, being more present through our visa application centres, and making a real effort to bring down our processing times. We are very competitive in the visa process.
Senator Downe: APEC I should have explained is Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, in case you didn't understand that. But when the Australian guy whipped out his card that allows him to go to all these countries automatically pre-cleared, again except Canada and the U.S.A., that made the argument it does hinder business.
How many levels of passports do we have in Canada? We have the red diplomatic, the green special and the blue regular. Are there any others?
Mr. Orr: You've identified the three principal ones. There is an emergency travel document and then there is a temporary passport as well for exceptional circumstances. You identified the three main ones. Overwhelmingly, of course, is the blue passport, but there is the red one for diplomatic purposes and the green one, which is used for government employees travelling on official business.
Senator Downe: The red one is for diplomats, their families, senior government officials, travelling to those countries on a temporary basis, and no other use other than those groups?
Mr. Orr: That's overwhelmingly the case. There are a couple of exceptions for individuals who are privy councillors, but I think that's essentially it.
Senator Downe: Privy councillors get the green one, I believe.
Caitlin Imrie, Director General, Passport Operational Coordination, Citizenship and Immigration Canada: In some cases, privy councillors can be eligible for diplomatic passports. There are some very defined specialized cases where a spouse travelling with someone who is representing Canada can have access to a diplomatic passport. The rules are quite complex and examined on a case-by-case basis, but the intention of the diplomatic passport is for people representing Canada abroad.
Senator Downe: To protect them from any infringement.
Explain the green passport, the special passport that provincial premiers have and government official. Former privy councillors receive as well.
Senator D. Smith: Privy Council is for life.
Senator Downe: Privy councillors receive that; former members of the cabinet who are long gone from cabinet receive that. They receive it because they are privy councillors, but they're not doing any government business. Why would they have that?
Ms. Imrie: They have it basically because of the positions that they held and were deemed to be in a position where they were representing the Government of Canada in an official capacity and having particular stature.
Senator Downe: I appreciate that, but that stature is now over. Let's assume someone has been out of the cabinet for one year or twenty years and now has a private consulting company doing private business. They show up in country X and they have a green special passport. That gives them some enhanced prestige, I assume. How does that serve the interests of Canada?
Ms. Imrie: All Canadians have the same level of protection when they travel. Obviously, we have very robust consular services, so the passport itself doesn't have special consular protections, per se, but there are a circumscribed number of people who are deemed to have, because of the positions that they held, access to that privilege. It is a circumscribed list we use. Essentially, the list is the Privy Council list, so it's a list that the Government of Canada has given special status to these individuals by virtue of the positions that they held.
Senator Downe: What is that special status for immigration or for travel? What benefit is the green passport?
Ms. Imrie: The benefit of the green passport is essentially that it indicates that the individual is travelling and there is sort of an official capacity to that.
I'll give you an example of a former Governor General who may continue, although not in that role, to have a certain stature regardless of the fact that they are not currently in that role. They continue to have a certain stature in Canada, so when they travel it's appropriate that their travel document essentially represents that stature.
Senator Downe: But does the green passport give them any advantage over the blue passport?
Ms. Imrie: Again, consular protections are in place for all Canadians, so there is no particular benefit beyond, for instance, that there may be access to different lines. In some cases when you are meeting with a representative outside of Canada, I would say those processes are distinct between various countries. There isn't one overall global approach. You would have to speak on a case-by-case basis. But it doesn't give you any protections that are not available to your average Canadian.
Senator Downe: The reason I ask is because in a previous career I had a red diplomatic passport. As a parliamentarian, I now have a green one. I received a note from Foreign Affairs, quite correctly I think, indicating that the green one should only be used when I'm travelling on government business, and my blue one should be used for personal use, which I understand. But I can't understand why privy councillors have a green passport. They are not doing any government work after they have retired from Parliament. We're told not to. I couldn't understand that distinction.
Mr. Orr: I understand the point, but I think the rules have been established and that it's basically seen as a sign of respect for the former position that these individuals held.
Senator Downe: Thank you.
The Chair: To follow up on that, the red passport ties into the Geneva Conventions and gives you certain protection. The difficulty with the green passport is that I have received more than one interpretation of what it gives you. Also, I have seen people use it and say, "Well, I can go through the diplomatic line because I have a green passport." I don't know whether the confusion comes from the people who have them or from the other side.
It would be helpful for this committee if you could — not now, because it will take time — give us an understanding of who has a green passport, because I have also travelled with officials from ministries who were not deputy ministers who had green passports and they were going to a WHO convention in China. They were on government business for sure, but they certainly weren't carrying the capacity of a privy councillor, nor were they in Parliament. But they had that.
It would be interesting to know the rules around the green passport and how many there are at the present time, just a snapshot. I think the world understands what a red is and what a blue is, but the green is confusing. I certainly have had businesses say, "Why can't I have one of those? Joe Brown has one." Then you have to trace how Joe got it. It may be that he was in Parliament at some time or maybe he was in a ministry at some time. I think some clarification is needed.
I know the minister gave the clarification to us, at one point saying that you have a green passport and you use it for your parliamentary business, but if you're travelling on your own holiday, et cetera, you use the blue. That clarified a lot for us because it wasn't clear before.
If you could give us a two-pager on that, it would be helpful.
Mr. Orr: Absolutely, chair. We'll get back to you rapidly on that. The rules are clear and it's quite straightforward, so we'll present that to you readily.
Senator Downe: I understand provincial premiers may get a green one, but do provincial ministers receive a green one as well? Could that be in your note?
Mr. Orr: Certainly, it will be.
Senator D. Smith: I have a green passport and if I ever lose it, I'll see you. I've never misused it.
You take an oath for life when you're a privy councillor, and there are certain things that are there for life. It's something of respect that works fine. I have one, and I have a blue one, and I've never done anything in any way —
Senator Downe: If I could interject, I was thinking of privy councillors because there was a well-known case years ago where a privy councillor went to Mexico on a personal vacation with a green passport and was turned back because they weren't allowed in with the green. I was thinking of your safety and comfort, Senator Smith.
Senator D. Smith: Are you finally done? Thank goodness. Depressing.
Canada always had a pretty generous refugee status program, and I know that in earlier years it was frequently abused by some people who would come here and then claim refugee status, and, quite frankly, they were queue jumping. In the case of bona fide ones, it's a different matter, but I know certain measures have been taken to try and curb the degree to which there was queue jumping.
Are you satisfied, to the extent that was going on, it's now reasonably addressed and has curbed most of that?
Mr. Orr: As you'll be aware, two years ago there was a major reform in Canada of the refugee system, the asylum system.
Senator D. Smith: I know.
Mr. Orr: I think the reforms have had a very significant impact.
With those individuals, first of all, the numbers have come down, and what is more important is where the individuals are coming from. When you look at people in the asylum system now, it's much more from countries where you would expect to be making refugee claims. I think we can say that overall it is still relatively early days, but the signs are very positive. The reforms are having a positive impact for the country.
Senator Demers: Mr. Orr, thank you so much for your future answer on the green passport. It's important to us. It was a very good question.
Hopefully this question is not out of line, but recently a former NHL player, an American who lives in Boston, came to Montreal to work on radio and television and now has decided to become a Canadian because he has a job. Does he have to apply directly to the Province of Quebec, or does he have to go right to Canada? I see the number of places you could go. There are many points. Is it possible — not necessarily for that player but for future cases — to answer that for me, sir?
Mr. Orr: I don't know the specifics of the case, so I'll speak in hypothetical terms.
Somebody who is coming to Canada as a temporary foreign worker, that is the instance in the first point, would then have to apply for permanent residence in Canada. There are a number of ways to do that, a number of different programs through which an individual can apply.
If it's in Quebec specifically, then there would be a connection with the Quebec government and would be selected through that, but it is then the Canadian government that would be issuing the permanent resident visa.
Senator Demers: I got my answer. Thank you, sir.
The Chair: I have one other question on visas. It has come up in our studies and it's about Mexico. I know the answer from the department is that it's constantly reviewing all visa countries as to whether they're necessary or not. Do you have anything further to add on the status of the visa at the moment for Mexico?
Mr. Orr: The visa requirement for Mexico was imposed in July 2009. At that point there were a number of concerns, not the least of which was the high number of asylum claims that were deemed to be unfounded at that period. But there were other issues including security, organized crime and human smuggling that played into this as well.
Yes, visas are reviewed. The requirement for a visa is reviewed on a regular basis, and there is a series of objective criteria that the department would look at to determine whether a visa is required or not.
At the moment, the view is that the visa requirement for Mexico remains warranted for a number of reasons, and I would just point to one. The refusal rate of visas from Mexico remains significant, and that is because of a number of concerns of the people who are applying to Canada and that we do not believe meet the criteria for a Canadian visa, and thus we are obliged to refuse.
That being said, we are also very conscious that there is a huge group of Mexicans applying, the vast majority of whom are very straightforward and we want to facilitate as much as we can. For that reason, we did open this CAN+ program for Mexico. For those who have applied and travelled previously to Canada and the United States in the last 10 years and have not had any difficulties, we expedite that process significantly.
What they are required to produce to support their visa application is minimized. They don't have to, for instance, give financial information and so on, and we try to expedite it. The processing times are remarkably good. It's about two to three days. In fact, we don't say that is our service standard, but we are producing those cases very rapidly with almost 100 per cent acceptance.
Senator Beyak: I do not normally ask a question in a committee where I'm replacing another senator. Today I'm replacing Senator Ataullahjan, but I notice you said that you look at low-risk people for the visas. In a 14-day processing time — and in the last year you processed a million visas — how do you decide on the low risk on the front end so you can process that many in such a short time?
Mr. Orr: That's a very good question, and it's particularly relevant in a place like China where the numbers have been going through the roof recently, with significant increases over the last several years. We've had to find ways to do that.
Within almost any movement of nationals to Canada, people wanting temporary resident visas, there is a low-risk group. I think visa officers over the years have been quite adept at identifying those groups that are low risk. There can be a number of factors that indicate that to us. Increasingly, we are trying to systematically identify the factors that make something low risk and something high risk.
There is very real effort to make sure we do that. That's why we have a lot of people on the ground who understand the situation in the individual country, the host country, where our visa officers are located. They have a very good grasp of the local circumstances and are thus able to determine what is low risk, what is high risk, and then we try to adapt our processes accordingly. So we do a light touch on those that are very low risk, move those through the system very rapidly, and then we're able to spend our time on what are the more complex cases and try to get that right.
All of this is very much backed up by a strong quality assurance program to make sure we get that triaging right, because that is absolutely critical to the entire integrity of the system.
The Chair: Thank you for appearing before us. We are very interested in trade promotion and, as I indicated, the visa aspects come up. I think we want to see where the comments coming from the other side are unwarranted, but if they are warranted, we want to be sure that we understand the system before we make any recommendations.
Thank you for your input, and I'll wait for your further submission on the green passports. It would be helpful.
(The committee adjourned.)