Report

DELEGATION MEMBERS AND STAFF

From 23–27 July 2017, Mr. David McGuinty, M.P., Vice-Chair, led a delegation from the Canadian Section of the Canada–United States Inter-Parliamentary Group (IPG) to the 27^th annual summit of the Pacific NorthWest Economic Region (PNWER), which was held in Portland, Oregon. The other delegates were Senators Pat Bovey and Jane Cordy, the Honourable Candice Bergen, P.C., M.P. and the Honourable Hedy Fry, P.C., M.P. The delegation was accompanied by Ms. Miriam Burke, Executive Secretary for the Canadian Section, and Ms. June Dewetering, the Canadian Section’s Senior Advisor.

THE EVENT

Established in 1991, PNWER is a statutory, bi-national, regional, private–public partnership that includes five U.S. states – Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington – and, in Canada, three provinces and two territories –  Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Yukon and the Northwest Territories. It has two meetings each year: its annual summit in the summer; and its economic leadership forum in the fall.

PNWER’s aims are the following:

• to promote greater regional collaboration;
• to enhance the competitiveness of the Pacific Northwest region in domestic and international markets;
• to leverage regional influence in Ottawa, Ontario and Washington, D.C.; and
• to achieve continued economic growth while maintaining the region’s natural environment.

DELEGATION OBJECTIVES FOR THE EVENT

At PNWER’s 2017 annual summit, a range of Canada–U.S. topics were discussed, including issues relating to the shared border, energy, the environment, transportation, water, mining, forestry, agriculture, invasive species, trade, regulatory cooperation and tourism.

Members of the IPG’s Canadian Section consider their attendance at the annual summit to be an important opportunity to meet with U.S. state and Canadian provincial/territorial legislators from a number of jurisdictions, as well as with representatives of the private sector. In their view, the discussions at PNWER’s 2017 annual summit enabled them to enhance Canada–U.S. relations and to identify ways in which to work together more closely on issues that are common to both countries.

ACTIVITIES DURING THE EVENT

PNWER’s 2017 annual summit involved policy tours, keynote addresses and policy sessions in a number of areas, including the following:

• energy and the environment
• transportation
• water policy
• mining
• forestry
• the border and trade
• infrastructure
• agriculture
• innovation
• invasive species
• the workforce
• cross-border livestock health
• economic development
• disaster resilience
• tourism.

This report summarizes some of the points that were made at the keynote and selected concurrent policy sessions.

KEYNOTE BREAKFAST: THE US-CANADA RELATIONSHIP

Elizabeth Moore Aubin, U.S. Department of State

• There is no bilateral relationship that is more consequential to the United States than the relationship that it has with Canada; the two should continue to foster and develop their trade, defence, energy and environmental relationships, as well as their people-to-people ties.
• The United States and Canada should keep discussing issues until they arrive at a win-win solution.
• The United States and Canada need to resolve the softwood lumber issue in order that they can focus on other issues.

Denis Stevens, Global Affairs Canada

• At times, Canada is characterized as a mouse that lives next to an elephant: the United States; in reality, Canada is a strong and peaceful – but massively outweighed – moose, and there is a need for the elephant to have a better understanding of the moose.
• Canadian engagement with the United States and the new U.S. administration is occurring at many levels.
• Canada and the United States are expanding pre-clearance.
• The Columbia River Treaty needs to be modernized, and Canada and the United States should work together on this task.
• A long-term agreement is needed regarding Canada–U.S. trade in softwood lumber; the two countries should focus on seizing new opportunities in the global marketplace in order to advance North American interests.
• Regarding modernization of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the objective must be to “do no harm” while being innovative; it is time to take the relationship among “three great neighbours” to the next level.
• Irritants must not be permitted to “taint” the Canada–U.S. relationship; it is important not to think in terms of protectionism or trade as a “zero-sum game.”

ROUNDTABLE ON BORDER AND TRADE ISSUES

Bruce Agnew, Cascadia Center

• Pre-clearance is important for both the United States and Canada.
• From a tourism perspective, “two-nation vacations” should be promoted.

Greg Wirtz, Cruise Lines International Association

• Pre-clearance is important for the tourism sector, including cruises.
• Tourists spend more if less time is needed to complete customs processes.

Jim Phillips, Canadian/American Border Trade Alliance

• Borders should be “fluid,” with easy movement of no- and low-risk people and goods.
• Co-location of border inspection would allow resources to be reallocated.

Gary Martin, North American Export Grain Association

• The digitization of documents relating to perishable products is very important in order to enhance speed and efficiency; a global trade protocol regarding such digitization is needed.
• The United States and Canada should have a common approach to phytosanitary measures.

Dan Ujczo, Dickinson Wright LLP

• Pre-clearance is critically important.
• During the renegotiation of NAFTA, the movement of business professionals is an issue that must be addressed.

David Miller, CN

• Strong cooperation exists between U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Canada Border Services Agency; less cooperation exists between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
• Issues should be addressed at the rail yard, rather than at the border.

Dave Cowan, The Butchart Gardens

• For businesses and tourists, certainty is key.
• Trilateral trusted travellers programs that would include all of the NAFTA countries would be beneficial.

BORDER FACILITATION

Deborah Meyers, U.S. Department of Homeland Security

• Pre-clearance is an integrated effort, and progress is being made to expand it to the marine, rail and land modes in addition to air; it has economic and security benefits.
• The United States conducts pre-clearance at a number of countries throughout the world.
• Terrorists, as well as agricultural and other threats, should be stopped at the earliest point possible, and before they get to North America.
• Technological innovations should be used, as appropriate; that said, while technology is useful, humans should ultimately make decisions about who and what should be admitted to a country.
• The United States and Canada should continue to work together on North American perimeter security.

PNWER NAFTA SURVEY OVERVIEW – ANALYSIS OF PRIORITY ISSUES IMPACTING THE REGION RELATED TO THE NAFTA MODERNIZATION PROCESS

Laurie Trautman, Border Policy Research Institute

• At a minimum, the NAFTA negotiations should “do no harm.”
• Uncertainty is not good for businesses.
• Issues relating to labour mobility extend beyond the provisions of something like NAFTA.
• Regarding Buy American provisions in U.S. legislation, the exemption that Canada is given in relation to defence procurement should extend to other areas.

MOVING FORWARD – WHAT STEPS ARE BEING TAKEN TO INFORM LEADERS ON THE BENEFITS OF US-CANADA TRADE?

Andrea van Vugt, Business Council of Canada

• As Canada, the United States and Mexico undertake modernization of NAFTA, they should “do no harm.”
• Because of the broad scope of the United States’ objectives during the renegotiation of NAFTA, Canada needs to have a “full basket of ‘asks’” in order to have proposals that can be used as trade-offs.
• The NAFTA negotiations should focus on labour mobility, customs processes and rules of origin, among other issues.
• If the NAFTA countries cannot conclude a modernized trilateral agreement, they should pursue bilateral agreements.
• Supply chains exist for organic and important reasons.

PROCESS AND PATH TO NEGOTIATIONS AND THE ROLE OF CONGRESS IN THE PROCESS

Dan Ujczo, Dickinson Wright LLP

• Many U.S. citizens see NAFTA as “everything that is wrong with trade”; there is an uphill battle regarding the “politics of NAFTA.”
• During the NAFTA negotiations, the focus should be what global trade will “look like” in the future.
• Any member of the U.S. Congress can request a personal briefing by the U.S. Trade Representative.
• NAFTA’s Chapter 19 is “code” for trade in softwood lumber.
• The United States is enforcing its trade agreements at an unprecedented level, as evidenced – for example – by anti-dumping and countervailing duty actions.

KEYNOTE LUNCHEON: ADVANCES IN HEALTH SCIENCE AND THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CANADA-US AGRICULTURE PARTNERSHIP

Joe Robertson, Oregon Health & Science University

• In the United States, a continued increase in health care spending is inevitable because of underlying factors, including the following:
  • population growth;
  • population aging;
  • a rise in the prevalence of chronic diseases;
  • medical advances leading to enhanced longevity; and
  • the increased health care spending that occurs when individual incomes rise.

• In the United States, health care spending will comprise an increasing percentage of the country’s gross domestic product.
• Evidence should inform decisions about health care, including to maximize outcomes for amounts spent.
• Regarding health care, science is available regarding “what works” and “what does not work”; science must be allowed to “speak.”
• “Megatrends” regarding health care include the following:
  • a rise in medical-related research;
  • rapid growth in consumerism;
  • consolidation in the sector;
  • an increased emphasis on prevention and wellness; and
  • a new understanding of the ways in which the social determinants of health affect health outcomes.

• Communities should make investments in the social determinants of health, many of which are outside the influence of the health care sector; the determinants include housing, education, poverty and violence

Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, P.C., M.P., Government of Canada

• Within North America, integrated supply chains exist in a number of sectors, including agriculture; increasingly, businesses are “making things together” and adding value to each other’s products.
• The Canada–U.S. trade partnership should be enhanced; there will always be challenges, but the countries must work together to resolve those challenges and thereby become stronger.
• If Canada and the United States increase their trade, they grow their economies together.
• Canada and the United States trade more agricultural products with each other than is the case with any two countries in the world.
• NAFTA is important to the three signatory countries, and North America has a strong and integrated agricultural and agri-food sector.
• NAFTA has made the three signatory countries more competitive in the global marketplace.
• It is time to modernize NAFTA, and to make the relationships among the three signatory countries stronger.
• Decisions should be science-based.
• Regulatory cooperation is needed, including in relation to agriculture and agri-food, and reducing “red tape” lowers costs and increases efficiency.
• The global demand for food is rising, and there are opportunities for Canada and the United States to work together “on the global stage.”

PRIORITY CANADA-US AGRICULTURE ISSUES

Patrick Kole, Idaho Potato Commission

• In agriculture, there is too much “pseudo-science,” and “sound science” is outweighed by “social science.”
• To the extent possible, the United States and Canada should harmonize agriculture-related systems.
• A focus should be determining the best way in which to get the most food to the greatest number of people at the lowest cost.

Larry Doke, Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan

• Regulatory cooperation is important.
• Agricultural trade should be based on science.

Cort Jensen, Montana Department of Agriculture

• When U.S. wheat enters Canada, it is unfairly priced as feed wheat.
• The term “farm lien” has different meanings in the United States and Canada.
• More and stronger state–provincial relations are needed.

Bev Yee, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry

• Canada and the United States should strengthen their relationship, rather than act in ways that undermine their partnership.
• A modernized NAFTA is critically important.

Alexis Taylor, Oregon Department of Agriculture

• NAFTA has been useful in supporting growth in the three countries’ agricultural sectors.
• NAFTA has allowed the building of federal–federal and state–provincial relationships.

Janice Tranberg, SaskCanola

• About 90% of Canada’s canola is exported, primarily to the United States.
• NAFTA has been important for the canola sectors in Canada, the United States and Mexico, including because of the alignment of regulatory processes, tariff-free access for further-processed canola-based products, and duty-free trade in canola oil, seed and meal.
• There are opportunities for the NAFTA countries to work together and to be leaders for the rest of the world.

John Masswohl, Canadian Cattlemen’s Association

• The renegotiation of NAFTA presents opportunities, and the countries should “think big”; it is important not to “move backward.”
• The United States’ mandatory country-of-origin labelling requirements were a “failed experiment” that resulted in U.S. job losses.
• From the perspective of grading of beef, Canada would like to have access to U.S. grades because Americans do not understand Canadian grades.

ECONOMIC IMPACT OF TRADE IN AGRICULTURE SECTOR

Alexis Taylor, Oregon Department of Agriculture

• Agriculture, food and fibre are important for economic growth and stability.
• Food production relies on the use of multinational supply chains.
• An ability to export is important for countries that grow more than is consumed domestically.
• Harmonized rules and regulations across countries are beneficial for businesses and for building consumer trust.
• No trade agreement, including NAFTA, is perfect; NAFTA should be modernized in order to build on its decades of success.
• Science-based risk assessments are fundamentally important.
• Because of the digital age, the world is smaller now than at any other point in history.

Gary Martin, North American Export Grain Association

• Over time, grain trade has had to evolve.
• Grain should be moved from “points of surplus” to “points of need.”
• North America will contribute to global food security through agricultural innovation and technology, and Canada and the United States will be partners in feeding the world.
• The digitization of trade-related documents would facilitate trade; for example, blockchain technology could be used to communicate and manage information.
• NAFTA is a “success story,” but much could be gained through modernization.
• From a U.S.–Canada perspective, there are “serious” market access issues regarding wine, and dairy and poultry products.

Frédéric Seppey, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

• More than 50% of Canada’s agricultural production is exported.
• Canada is the primary foreign agricultural market for 29 U.S. states.
• In North America, federal and state/provincial governments are focused on ensuring that decisions about the agricultural sector are made on the basis of science, and – despite some regulatory differences – the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service “think alike” about desired outcomes.
• Canada–U.S. agricultural trade could be enhanced through modernization of NAFTA, regulatory cooperation and alignment, and coordination on the “world stage,” such as regarding low level presence, maximum residue levels and biotechnology.

SUSTAINABILITY IN AGRICULTURE

Pamela Barrow, Northwest Food Processors Association

• Sustainable practices ensure the continued viability of the food sector.
• Technologies and strategies for water efficiency and compliance should be identified.
• Awareness and access to innovations, and to new and emerging energy and other technologies, should be facilitated.
• There is a water–energy nexus; it takes energy to move water and to heat water.
• Sectoral challenges, as well as needs and solutions, should be identified; food processors should then be linked to solution providers.

Nellie McAdams, Rogue Farm Corps

• The agricultural land base should be preserved for future generations.
• A “beginning” farmer or rancher is not necessarily a “young” farmer or rancher.
• The average age of farmers and ranchers is rising, and farmers and ranchers should have a succession plan; succession-related challenges include the following:
  • Many farmers and ranchers do not have a successor inside or outside their family.
  • A number of farmers and ranchers do not have adequate information about succession planning.
  • Succession planning is emotionally and financially complex.
• Because there are new sources of – and growing – competition for farmland, new farmers and ranchers are being “priced out of the market.”

KEYNOTE BREAKFAST: MUNICIPAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Mayor Don Iveson, City of Edmonton

• Canada is now thoroughly urbanized; 150 years ago, 80% of Canadians lived on farms and now 20% do so.
• About 90% of Canadians live within 200 miles of the U.S. border.
• Mayors are making important decisions; there is no time for polarization and division at the local level.
• From an economic perspective, Alberta “led” Canada for much of the last decade; however, the province has been negatively affected by the decline in commodity prices.
• In Alberta, carbon pricing is leading to new capital investments and is supporting innovation.
• Canada and the United States are mutually dependent and interlinked.
• Diversity is an economic strength, and the entrepreneurial aspirations of immigrants should be supported.
• The longer the delay in dealing with resiliency issues, the more costly the consequences.

BEST PRACTICES IN URBAN TO RURAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Honourable Ranj Pillai, Government of Yukon

• Except for their capital cities, the territories in Canada’s North are sparsely populated; there are infrastructure needs that must be met, including in relation to transportation.
• In Canada’s North, including Yukon, mining and tourism are important; however, there is a need to capitalize on strengths and diversify the territories’ economies into other sectors.
• The governments in Canada’s territories are partners with Indigenous governments.

Chris Harder, Business Oregon

• The urban–rural divide is increasing, giving rise to further rural inequities.
• Not all communities benefit equally from economic development and growth.
• Partnerships are critical and add value.

Clark Krause, Boise Valley Economic Partnership

• Communities, and people in those communities, “make things happen.”
• For businesses, a youthful population is important because it provides some hope that the needed workforce will exist.
• In-migration can be important.

Schaun Goodeve, Greater Edmonton Economic Development Team

• Changes in commodity prices can have significant impacts on communities.
• There is a need to blur geopolitical lines and to work collaboratively for regional benefit.

Martha Schrader, Clackamas County Oregon

• Trust can be built through good governance.
• Rural communities should be connected to each other, and should have access to public services; as well, farmers should be linked to the resources that they require.
• Infrastructure is needed to help businesses remain, and expand, in a particular community.
• Small and medium-sized businesses should be connected to export opportunities.

FINANCING AND DEVELOPING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES FOR SMALL BUSINESSES AND RURAL COMMUNITIES

Adam Zimmerman, Craft3

• Community development financial institutions lend to people and invest for resilience.
• Many communities could benefit from non-bank financing.

Krystyna Wolniakowski, Columbia River Gorge Commission

• It is important to support local economic vitality in rural communities.
• Land-use planning should occur in a way that is consistent with environmental protection.
• Public lands should be protected as economic development, including in relation to tourism, is supported.

BUILDING ON STRENGTHS TO DIVERSIFY ECONOMIES THROUGH RESEARCH & INNOVATION

Laura Kilcrease, Alberta Innovates

• Through the multiplier effect, economic activity generates wealth; all jobs create wealth.
• Communities should diversify in order to ensure that not all of their sectors are cyclical; a diverse economy is a source of strength.
• Financing is an accelerator for an activity “once something is happening.”
• When partnerships are formed, the outcomes are greater than would otherwise be the case.

POTENTIAL IMPACT OF AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL PRIVATIZATION ON SMALL AIRPORTS AND THE COMMUNITIES THEY SERVE

John Engber, John Engber and Associates, Inc.

• Aviation can be critical to a community’s economic development.
• Aviation can be significant for rural communities, and can link those communities to “the outside world.”

Lauren Garrett, Three Arch Strategies

• Many airports are located in rural communities.

KEYNOTE LUNCHEON: DISASTER RESILIENCE IS AN IMPERATIVE IN AN ERA OF INCREASING HAZARDS AND INFRASTRUCTURE FRAGILITY

Stephen Flynn, Northeastern University

• “Resiliency” is the ability to overcome adversity, regardless of the odds.
• Resiliency requires preparing for, and adapting to, changing conditions; it involves withstanding, when it is possible to do so, recovering quickly when it is not possible to withstand, and “rebuilding better.”
• Resiliency must be built into critical infrastructure.
• What is valuable, vulnerable and consequential should be identified, and risks should then be assessed and addressed.
• By undermining risks, resilience should help to reduce the risk of terrorism.
• Civil society should be engaged in efforts to build resilience.
• Often, design is focused on safety, efficiency and security, and not on resilience.
• Risk has always been, and will always be, a part of the “fabric” of living; risk will only get worse as “connectedness” continues to increase.
• The inherent vulnerabilities that arise from connectedness must be addressed.
• No place on earth is risk-free, but people may be more likely to live and invest in locations that manage risk best.
• In an emergency, family members, friends and neighbours are generally the “first responders.”
• People, systems and communities should be enabled to thrive, and not just survive, amid disruption.

Randolph Kirchain, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• It is possible to quantify the value of hazard resistance.
• Everyone needs to have incentives to invest in resilience.
• Design has economic, social and environmental consequences.
• A life-cycle perspective is important; spending a small additional amount at the beginning can lead to significant reductions in longer-term hazard costs, and the incremental cost of enhanced construction should be weighed against those costs.
• The way in which decisions about the built environment are made should be changed.

CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE INTERDEPENDENCIES

Yumei Wang, Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries

• In the aftermath of a disaster, fuel, communications and multimodal transportation networks, electricity, and operational water and wastewater systems are important; as well, hospitals, fire and police stations, etc. should be operational.
• Public safety is the highest priority.

Pat Griggs, Bonneville Power Administration

• In a disaster, equipment should be moved to the locations where it is needed; however, the equipment needed for electricity is large and heavy.
• After a disaster, decisions must be made about whether to rebuild what has been damaged or to build anew.

James Maltby, Lynden Transport

• It is not possible to have transportation without fuel and infrastructure.
• Fuel, transportation infrastructure and communications networks are needed to survive the first three days of a disaster.

Jim Donihee, Canadian Energy Pipeline Association

• Most pipeline companies are largely self-sufficient and have the equipment that would be needed to recover from a disaster.
• Action and recovery are possible only to the extent that preparation has occurred; regulatory requirements can help to ensure the existence of adequate preparation.
• Despite its cost, it is optimal to be in a sustained state of readiness.
• Tabletop exercises are not a substitute for real exercises.

CALGARY FLOOD AND ALBERTA FIRES RESPONSE AND RECOVERY

Jody Wolfe, United Way of Calgary

• As required, community funders – like the United Way – can be a convenor in a community.
• Community funders can “galvanize” resources and move them to locations where they are needed, serve as coordinators, and help to ensure that “lessons learned” are identified and shared.

KEYNOTE LUNCHEON: INNOVATION

Brad Smith, Microsoft

• Investing in the next generation of people must be a priority.
• More collaborative research should be fostered; with partnerships, it is possible to “go farther and faster.”
• NAFTA has been beneficial.
• The best ideas result from diversity; diversity leads to a range of ideas.
• Broadband has become a necessity of life, and efforts should be directed to ensuring that rural communities have access.

FORESTRY AND HORTICULTURE SUDDEN OAK DEATH

Representative David Brock Smith, Oregon State Legislature

• In addressing sudden oak death, the solutions are linked to adequate funding; it must be possible to use the best available science to contain the spread of the disease and to eradicate it.

Amy Amrhein, Office of U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley

• Sudden oak death is being seen in conifers.

Peter Daugherty, Oregon Department of Forestry

• All relevant parties should work collaboratively to address sudden oak death.
• If a new infestation of sudden oak death is detected, action should be taken as soon as possible.
• Key challenges include understanding sudden oak death and ensuring adequate public awareness about the disease.

Sarah Navarro, Oregon Department of Forestry

• If untreated, sudden oak death intensifies rapidly.
• To contain the spread of sudden oak death, it is important to “cut and burn,” with a buffer of between six and seven acres for each infected tree.

Jeff Stone, Oregon Association of Nurseries

• The presence of disease affects perceptions among domestic and international consumers and competitors.
• Early detection is key in addressing disease.

LESSONS LEARNED FROM WASHINGTON’S GYPSY MOTH ERADICATION PROJECT

Jim Marra, Washington Department of Agriculture

• The Asian gypsy moth is a greater threat than is the European gypsy moth.
• Because of its flight capability, the treatment area for the Asian gypsy moth should be wide.

JAPANESE BEETLE POTENTIAL IMPACTS & CURRENT OREGON ERADICATION

Clinton Burfitt, Oregon Department of Agriculture

• Japanese beetles and humans like to eat the same plants.
• Japanese beetles could be devastating for the agricultural sector because of the time and expense of spraying, and the loss of markets; early detection is key.
• Containment is more costly than eradication, which is more costly than prevention.
• An eradication plan for Japanese beetles requires funding, legal authorities, detection and treatment technologies, community support and sectoral involvement.

INVASIVE FISH IMPACTS AND REGIONAL THREATS

Joseph Maroney, Kalispel Tribe of Indians

• Invasive species establish themselves, and reproduce rapidly, outside of their native range.
• Invasive species have negative economic and environmental impacts.
• Decision makers should be informed about the potential negative consequences of not implementing eradication plans for invasive species.

Brian Heise, Thompson Rivers University

• Control measures for invasive species include netting and angler incentive programs.
• Some invasive species can lead to the extinction of local fish in small bodies of water.

A REGIONAL APPROACH TO MANAGING FLOWERING RUSH

Mark Sytsma, Portland State University

• The economic impact of aquatic weeds depends on such factors as the prevalence of the weeds and the value of the land affected; it is possible to have a low economic impact if the prevalence is high but the land value is low.
• Flowering rush, which is of Eurasian origin, was probably introduced in ballast water.

Justin Bush, Washington Invasive Species Council

• A regional plan to manage flowering rush should include prevention and monitoring, among other actions.

Respectfully submitted,