Foreign Affairs committee  I'm not familiar with that specific decision, but I would say that businesses greatly value predictability and stability. That's a clear message, I think, to all jurisdictions in Canada. If you want investment, predictable, clear and reliable rules are extremely important, particularly for many international investors.

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you very much. I just returned from a trip to Japan and Korea. We had a chance to meet with many of our partners in industry and government. I'll just be very direct, in that it's not too late and there are very high expectations for Canada. It's not just about LNG, but LNG is absolutely part of the picture.

Foreign Affairs committee  It's a great question. Honestly, the most important point, particularly in dealing with our partners in the North Pacific, is the concept of diversification. Even if demand falls for the next 20 to 30 years, what our partners want is a safe supply from their like-minded partners like Canada.

Foreign Affairs committee  Absolutely. When we speak with industry, there is a business case. Every project has different economics behind it, but LNG Canada in particular is of national security interest to countries like Japan and Korea.

Foreign Affairs committee  I'll just repeat my previous remarks about how we understand that there is significant interest and there is a business case. International investors have expressed their interest in investing in Canada if we have the right regulatory certainty and predictability in Canada and if there is a clear signal that such investment is welcome here.

Foreign Affairs committee  Absolutely. In fact, just recently we witnessed around the world.... There are instances at times when new groupings are formed, and sometimes Canada is not necessarily involved from the outset. It's not always tied to security and defence, but that's one area where Canada can step up so we can make ourselves more helpful to our partners.

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you for the question. Rather than focusing on what assets we need to provide security for ourselves and for our allies.... We do hear loud and clear when travelling the world and meeting with out counterparts how important Canada is. The Arctic is certainly of great interest to our partners, whether that be the United States or our partners in Europe or in the north Pacific.

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair, for this opportunity to speak to this committee about the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the implications for global peace and security. The Business Council of Canada comprises 170 chief executives and entrepreneurs of Canada's leading enterprises. Many members lead global businesses with extensive trade and investment interests all around the world.

International Trade committee  I think the industry—especially the other witnesses—would be better prepared to speak about the specific industry dynamics. Absolutely, if we negotiate a deal, it has to be a good deal for Canada. Given the different dynamics across this country, I think it would be important to get voices from those folks about what that could look like.

International Trade committee  Maybe to answer the question in a different way, we can appreciate how complex this disagreement is between the U.S. and Canada. To flag for the committee's awareness, we are approaching the third Free Trade Commission meeting among the three parties for USMCA—the halfway point before our mandatory review of USMCA.

International Trade committee  Absolutely. We agree that the only sustainable, long-term solution is a new softwood lumber agreement. Even if the dispute settlement system was operating as intended and with shorter time frames, we would expect that we'd continue to experience this cycle, so we do think that. This is where it's in the best interests of the United States, as well.

International Trade committee  I'm happy to weigh in. To our understanding, at least at the administration level, this has not been a priority. I know we've seen some public statements from the USTR, indicating that they would be open to a negotiation. However, we know we haven't been able to move the discussion forward, at least with this administration, and I suppose the previous administration as well.

International Trade committee  Absolutely, we would be supportive of having an individual or individuals leading the effort to fundamentally get U.S. policy-makers on board with a negotiation. It is important, and that seems to be where we're struggling at the moment. Having somebody who's familiar with policy-making in the United States stakeholder community, who can really drive this for Canada, would be beneficial, whether that's Mr.

International Trade committee  Perhaps this is a broad comment, but what we saw with CUSMA entering into force was the restoration of certainty in the industry and across many industries, not just the softwood lumber industry. With that, we've seen companies comfortably make long-term investments for a number of sectors.

International Trade committee  That's an excellent question. Because we have a number of cases through different venues with NAFTA, CUSMA and the WTO, maybe it's more broadly on the issue of the WTO appellate body that we were very much encouraged to see the United States, through other WTO parties, agree to restore functionality.