Bill C-13

If you read the summary you will have enough knowledge to answer these simple Vote Questions Below.

An Act to Implement the Protocol on the Accession of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership

Bill type: House Government

Bill Sponsor: Minister of International Trade

BILL C-13 — SUMMARY UK Accession to the CPTPP (CPUKT) Sponsor: Minister of International Trade

Bill C-13 implements the United Kingdom's accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership — extending Canada's existing Pacific trade deal to include the UK. It is a technical bill, but it embeds significant regulatory power in Cabinet and maintains a two-tier system that protects some Canadian industries while exposing others to full UK competition.

WHO GAINS POWER

Cabinet (Governor in Council):

  • Can amend tariff schedules through regulation — no new legislation required for each change
  • Controls timing and scope of tariff reductions without parliamentary debate
  • Implements trade obligations unilaterally within the framework Parliament approves once

UK exporters:

  • Gain equal market access to Canada as existing CPTPP countries — Australia, Japan, Vietnam, etc.
  • Most goods enter tariff-free immediately
  • Some footwear: 20% tariff phased out over 5 years
  • Some vehicles and buses: 6.1% tariff phased out over 4 years
  • Tobacco products and certain ships: tariffs phased out over 4 years
  • Access to a $2+ trillion Canadian economy

Supply-managed farmers (dairy, poultry, eggs):

  • Retain full protection from UK competition — 140+ tariff items marked excluded in Schedule 2
  • Maintain production quotas and price-setting power
  • No new UK competition — stable profits preserved
  • May receive compensation packages if any market access concessions are made

Parliament:

  • Retains mandatory review every 3 years — committee must report within 6 months
  • Can recommend changes based on actual impacts on jobs, farmers, and consumers

WHO LOSES POWER

Non-supply-managed Canadian producers:

  • Face new UK competition with no equivalent protection
  • Must compete on price with UK exporters who now have equal tariff access
  • Footwear, vehicle, tobacco, and shipbuilding sectors face direct UK competition
  • No compensation mechanism — unlike supply-managed farmers

Parliament (day-to-day):

  • Loses ability to debate individual tariff changes — Cabinet amends schedules by regulation
  • Oversight limited to 3-year review cycle after the fact

Canadian consumers:

  • Gain no access to cheaper dairy, poultry, or eggs — supply management fully protected
  • Whether tariff savings on UK goods reach consumers depends entirely on retailer decisions
  • Currency fluctuations and shipping costs may offset any savings

WHO GAINS MONEY

  • UK exporters save on tariffs previously paid to enter the Canadian market
  • Canadian importers and retailers gain lower input costs — may increase margins or pass savings on
  • Canadian exporters to the UK gain reciprocal tariff-free access to 67+ million consumers
  • Supply-managed farmers retain high domestic prices with no new competition
  • Government gains political capital from trade expansion while protecting its farm base

WHO LOSES MONEY

  • Canadian taxpayers fund compensation packages for supply-managed farmers if any market access concessions are made
  • Taxpayers fund administrative costs of new tariff schedules and mandatory 3-year reviews
  • Small Canadian manufacturers face larger UK producers entering tariff-free with greater economies of scale
  • Canadian consumers continue paying supply-managed prices — among the highest in the world for dairy, poultry, and eggs

THE CATCH

  • Supply-managed farmers get full protection while other Canadian industries — footwear, vehicles, ships — face open UK competition with no equivalent shield
  • Cabinet can amend tariff schedules by regulation indefinitely — Parliament approves the framework once and loses ongoing control
  • The 3-year review creates the appearance of oversight while Cabinet implements changes between reviews without debate
  • Canadian consumers pay the cost of supply management through artificially high food prices — the bill does nothing to address this and extends the system's protection indefinitely
  • UK exporters gain the same access as Pacific nations despite having no geographic or historical connection to the Pacific trade bloc
  • Compensation packages for farmers — if triggered — are funded by taxpayers who already pay inflated prices for the products those farmers sell
  • The bill bundles tariff schedule updates across multiple Acts — Financial Administration Act, Bank Act, Insurance Companies Act, Customs Tariff — into one vote with no ability to separate them