Industry Minister Joly fails to appear before committee on U.S. trade deal

Industry Minister Melanie Joly has come under fire for failing to appear at a standing committee meeting on international trade.

Source: Melanie Joly (X.com)

Industry Minister Melanie Joly has come under fire for failing to appear at a standing committee meeting on international trade, with Conservative MP Jacob Mantle presenting a motion to report her absence to the House of Commons.

The meeting was held to discuss Canada’s ongoing trade negotiations with the United States, particularly in relation to the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement, which is set to be renegotiated next year.

“The motion is as follows,” Mantle told the committee on Monday. “The standing committee on international trade report to the House its disappointment that despite the unanimous request by the committee, the Minister of Industry has failed to appear before it in respect of its study on the forthcoming review of the upcoming Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement.”

Mantle’s motion also called for the committee to “recall its opinion,” that Joly be “identified as a responsible minister,” which was discussed at a previous meeting in September.

“The Minister of Industry’s appearance is necessary for the committee to complete its review of CUSMA, particularly given the critical importance of that agreement to the Canadian economy, including those industries for which the Ministry of Industry is responsible, such as the automotive, forestry, energy, critical minerals, steel, aluminum and agricultural industries, and their workers,” he said.

When Mantle asked Canada’s chief trade negotiator, Aaron Fowler, whether or not “a deal was on the table” with the Trump administration after approaching nearly a year of trade negotiations, he responded that the government remained “engaged with the United States more broadly.”

“You will be aware that there are no active negotiations ongoing,” said Fowler. “That has been the case now for a number of weeks.”

Mantle then asked Fowler if he felt there was “sufficient transparency” regarding the negotiations, to which he responded “yes.”

“I do believe that the level of transparency that has been provided is appropriate to the level of sensitivity that those negotiations entail,” he said.

Fowler went on to say that he was “aware of the request that the committee has put forward for information from the consultations” and that “work was underway” on fulfilling that request.

The Liberals announced the “launch of public consultations on the operation of CUSMA” in September to “provide Canadians with an opportunity to share their views on the agreement.”

The consultations were held from September 20 until November 3rd.

“As we prepare for the joint review of CUSMA, we want to hear directly from Canadians,” said Dominic LeBlanc, minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade at the time. “Their views will help us ensure that this agreement continues to reflect our national priorities, strengthen our economy, and create opportunities for businesses and workers across Canada.”

Mantle responded that he didn’t think it should have been necessary for the committee to “have to pass a motion to request information about public consultations on a topic that is probably the most important topic for the country right now.”

“I would encourage Global Affairs and yourself as chief negotiator, and others, to offer more information and more transparency about this process,” said Mantle.

The Conservative MP for York-Durham also noted that during Fowler’s last appearance, he’d told the committee, “I hope the committee and more generally Parliament, feel that they are well informed about our agenda.”

“My answer is ‘no,’” said Mantle. “We don’t feel well informed.”