The Executive Director of the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance (CAFTA) has been appointed to the federal government's Advisory Committee on Canada-U.S. Economic Relations.
The committee was created in advance of the joint review of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), set to begin on July 1.
Michael Harvey is happy agri-food exporters are getting a seat at the table.
He says the first meeting with the Prime Minister Mark Carney and Minister Responsible for Canada-U.S. trade Dominic LeBlanc is this coming Monday.
I'm keeping an open mind," said Harvey of his expectations for the meeting, "I mean, from the agri-food exporters' perspective, the most important thing is protecting the great economic deal that we've had with the United States over past years. The CUSMA agreement's really important for our sector. It provides a stable legal framework for our doing business with the United States, and we want to protect that in this review."
Some farm groups would like to see the agreement kept status quo, but from CAFTA's perspective – since it represents 90 per cent of Canada's agri-food exporters – Harvey said a few updates " around things like scientific advances in the sector" wouldn't hurt, but "keeping the agreement as is would be a very good result, considering the circumstances."
More than two dozen individuals make up the committee, from various backgrounds, and Harvey is looking forward to working alongside them.
" Absolutely," he stated, "I mean, it's a broad cross-section of the Canadian economy, and it's some people who've got really deep knowledge of the United States and interest in the United States, so I'm looking forward to working with such a diverse group."
Some members with agricultural backgrounds include Ken Seitz, CEO of Nutrien, Candace Laing, CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and former executive at Nutrien, and Ralph Goodale, former Liberal MP for Regina-Wascana and Minister of Agriculture under the Liberal government from 1993 to 1997.
In a news release, CAFTA says the Canada-U.S. trade relationship is "central to Canada's competitiveness, export growth and farm viability" with $3.6 billion in goods and services crossing the border daily.









