Ensuring Resource Security

Canada and the United States benefit from a rich and interdependent resource market including oil, natural gas, electricity, coal, uranium, primary metals, forest products and agriculture. The security of our countries depends on the assurance of uninterrupted flows between us.

• With few exceptions, under the energy provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement, trade moves without interference between Canada and the United States. As the largest single supplier of the energy needs of the United States, Canada occupies a favoured and strategic position. But there remain real and recurring threats to market-based principles that must be addressed by both countries.
• Expanding energy demand in Canada, North America and the world requires Canada to develop a comprehensive strategy for ensuring the timely development of the energy supplies it will need both to foster a competitive economy and high standard of living for Canadians and to reinforce its competitive advantage as the preferred supplier of energy to the United States. This energy strategy must be fully integrated with Canada’s pursuit of environmental goals such as the improvement of air and water quality and the global control of greenhouse gas emissions.
• To deal directly with the Canadian sectors most affected by trade remedy actions and to address United States interests in enhanced energy security, Canada should develop and propose a resource security pact based on respect for the twin principles of security of access and security of supply.
• Canada and the United States must find a mutually satisfactory way to address the remaining problems arising from predatory pricing and subsidization. To this end, Canada should pursue a multifaceted approach to reducing the impact of current trade remedy processes, through comprehensive or sectoral negotiations, joint institutional arrangements, competition policy, regulatory convergence and multilateral institutions.