I'm just curious to know whether or not there have been analyses conducted with respect to any of the investor-state dispute settlement clauses in agreements to which Canada is a party. I'm thinking particularly, in this context, of efforts to ensure that we can produce and supply medical PPE, but also other types of medical equipment that have been relevant to the pandemic. I'm thinking also about ventilators, for instance, or anything that would fall under that umbrella of goods that are required in order to meet the demands of the pandemic. I'm quite glad that Canadian companies have stepped up in order to fill that need, but I am concerned that companies from outside of Canada that are operating out of countries that are party to some of these agreements with Canada may eventually look on that unfavourably and seek damages under our current trade laws.
I'm curious to know what the government knows about that and what work has been done in order to understand what those risk factors are and whether or not, in the opinion of the government, there is a real risk. I'd also like to know if there's a contingency plan or if there's been any effort to engage our partners under those agreements to talk about temporarily suspending ISDS provisions. I know there are certainly a lot of Canadians who have engaged in a letter-writing campaign to ask that parties at the very least temporarily suspend ISDS provisions during the pandemic so that there's no fear that public policy might not go down the road of ensuring that we have a reliable domestic supply of the things we need at this time because of concerns about provisions of international trade agreements.
I'm just trying to give you as much context as possible. Whatever conversations have happened within the department and whatever analysis has taken place that you can share with the committee, I would love for you to share, perhaps in writing once you've had the opportunity to do that.
Could I ask that you commit to getting back to the committee in writing with whatever you think is pertinent to this general theme?