International Trade committee  Our view is that the rapid response labour mechanism is working very well. It is working exactly as intended. It has provided a platform for the parties to work together to address specific issues that are brought to our attention, often by labour organizations in one of the three countries.

International Trade committee  I think it is an important question, because the government tries to take a nuanced view of investor-state dispute settlement in the context of our trade agreements. It's obvious that clear and balanced rules and an effective dispute settlement mechanism are key to creating a predictable investment climate for Canadian investors abroad.

International Trade committee  No, that is not how I would characterize the basis for the decision that was taken with respect to the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom was acceding to an existing agreement. The rules of that agreement were already in place. Those rules included access and recourse to an investor-state dispute settlement mechanism.

International Trade committee  I can't speak for Mr. Robertson. I'm giving you my opinion—

International Trade committee  —as the current negotiator for the Government of Canada.

International Trade committee  Thank you for the question. It's still too early to present future Canadian proposals, which will be tabled in the 2026 review. The work is certainly under way and we're continuing our assessment of the implementation of the Canada‑United States‑Mexico Agreement, to ensure that it does what the parties intended.

International Trade committee  That is exactly right. The Canadian industry has recourse to redressive measures to deal with situations of unfair trade practices, whether it's dumping on the part of foreign companies into the Canadian marketplace or heavily subsidized goods entering Canada at a rate that affects the competitiveness of Canadian products in the Canadian marketplace.

International Trade committee  Thank you very much for the question. I fully accept the premise behind it. The North American integrated market for trade in products like steel and aluminum is critical to the prosperity of Canada and to the well-being of the aluminum sector in Canada. The United States is not in a position to fully satisfy its own domestic market needs when it comes to aluminum.

International Trade committee  I fully agree that the situation with respect to the treatment afforded to Canadian softwood lumber exports to the United States is unacceptable. The tariffs that have been imposed by the United States are unwarranted and the tariff rates that have been arrived at by the methodologies deployed by the United States are inaccurate and will not be sustained when subjected to a legal challenge.

International Trade committee  The time that it has taken to establish panels to hear different softwood cases is extremely frustrating to the Government of Canada. We have been pushing counterparts in the United States to move more quickly with panel formation. It is a process. It does take a certain amount of time.

International Trade committee  I can assure you that Canada works very closely with the United States and with Mexico across the full range of trade issues, including on critical sectors such as the aluminum sector. I have not heard any concerns expressed with respect to the transshipment of Mexican aluminum into the Canadian market, which seemed to be the situation implied by your question.

International Trade committee  Yes.

International Trade committee  That is correct.

International Trade committee  We won Softwood Lumber I, but it wasn't international trade litigation. We were appearing before the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission.

International Trade committee  My colleague is telling me it was 2001. Yes, at that point, we put the agreement in place that remained in force until 2016.