OTTAWA, Canada – Mary Ng, minister of small business, export promotion and international trade, concluded a successful visit to Mexico City to meet with counterparts and key stakeholders, marking the one-year anniversary of the coming into force of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).
“The relationship between Canada, Mexico and the United States is one of the closest in the world and has remained strong throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, as our nations look to build recoveries that are resilient and inclusive, I know this relationship will continue to be of the highest importance. I am committed to working alongside Ambassador Tai and Secretary Clouthier to ensure that CUSMA continues to be an incredible vehicle for our nations’ diverse entrepreneurs and business owners to collaborate, sell to each other, and compete on the world stage,” said minister Ng.
During the visit, Tatiana Clouthier Carrillo, Mexico’s secretary of economy, hosted several meetings with minister Ng and Katherine Tai, United States Trade Representative, where they had discussions with representatives of Mexico’s, Canada’s, US business and labour communities on the progress being made in the implementation of CUSMA.
North America’s three women trade representatives discussed ways to strengthen collaboration between their countries on shared priorities, including their deeply integrated supply chains, high labour standards, and advancing inclusive trade. Minister Ng highlighted how the renewed commitment to the economic partnership between the three countries through CUSMA will be crucial to supporting people, workers, and businesses across their countries in recovery.
Throughout the visit, the three trade representatives discussed the need to build recoveries that are inclusive and create opportunities in trade for under-represented groups across North America, notably women, Indigenous peoples, racialized communities, persons with disabilities, and the LGBTQ2 community. They highlighted the chapters in CUSMA that enable much of this and the work that needs to be done to build on this as the three nations head onto the road of recovery.
During an inclusive trade round table with diverse entrepreneurs and representatives of small businesses, Minister Ng reaffirmed Canada’s commitment to ensuring all people benefit from trade. The three trade representatives then met with Luisa María Alcalde, Mexico’s secretary of labor and social welfare, to see the historic labour reform in action at the new Labour Conciliation Centre and Federal Labour Court while discussing their collaborative efforts to protect workers.
Minister Ng also had a series of productive meetings to continue to strengthen the bilateral relationship between Canada and Mexico. This included meetings with stakeholders from the energy and natural resource sectors.
The minister met Canadian company representatives from CDPQ, Pattern Energy, ATCO, Cubico, and Canadian Solar to hear about their challenges and goals in the energy sector in Mexico. She also took the opportunity to meet with Rocío Nahle García, Mexico’s secretary of energy, to discuss the changes in Mexico’s energy sector regulations and the repercussions felt by people, workers, and businesses, and the impact on opportunities for growth in the global transition toward sustainable development.
Secretary Clouthier joined minister Ng for a site visit to TC Energy, the largest Canadian investor in Mexico, and had a working lunch with Jennifer Pierce, the company’s president. Minister Ng also met with Jody Kuzenko, president and CEO of Torex Gold Resources Inc., a Canadian company, to discuss how responsible mining can generate economic growth and support local communities.
Minister Ng also met with leaders from the private sector, including executives from Grupo Bimbo, Mexico’s largest investor in Canada, to discuss continued collaboration and new opportunities to work together on inclusive trade. Minister Ng continued that progressive conversation with leaders of the Inclusion and Women in Business Committee, part of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Mexico, to discuss their initiatives to support diversity in business operations in Mexico and the importance of small and medium-sized enterprises in the Canadian economy.
As part of the trip, minister Ng met with Juan Baqué González, head of the YMCA Group of Mexico City, to tour a local YMCA, which showcases the incredible partnership between the YMCA of Greater Toronto and YMCA Mexico for more than 20 year and the work they are doing together to support families and foster leadership skills with local youth.
