Bill C-2 explained in plain English

Bill C-2 would implement free trade agreements between Canada and the European Free Trade Association countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland), including separate agriculture agreements with Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland.

Bill C-2 is legislation that would put into effect several international trade agreements between Canada and four European countries: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. These countries together form the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). The bill implements the main free trade agreement with all four EFTA countries, plus three separate agriculture-specific agreements with Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland. The bill was first introduced on December 1, 2008, and is currently at the second reading stage in the House of Commons. The agreements would govern trade rules and procedures between Canada and these countries, but the specific details of what the agreements contain are not provided in the available bill text.

A legislative summary is currently being prepared for this bill by the Parliamentary Information and Research Service of the Library of Parliament. Meanwhile, the following executive summary is available. If you have any questions, please contact the Library of Parliament at (613) 995-1166. On 1 December 2008, the Minister of International Trade and Minister of the Asia-Pacific Gateway introduced Bill C-2, An Act to implement the Free Trade Agreement between Canada and the States of the European Free Trade Association (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland), the Agreement on Agriculture between Canada and the Republic of Iceland, the Agreement on Agriculture between Canada and the Kingdom of Norway and the Agreement on Agriculture between Canada and the Swiss Confederation, in the House of Commons and it was given first reading. Bill C-2 implements four treaties and their respective annexes signed by Canada. The first treaty implemented through the bill is a multilateral free trade agreement between Canada and the member states of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), i.e., Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. The other, bilateral treaties deal specifically with trade in agriculture. They involve Canada and the same EFTA states, with the exception of Liechtenstein. Bill C-2 implements these four treaties through a set of provisions that will form the core of a stand-alone piece of legislation, the Canada–EFTA Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act. The Canada–EFTA and the bilateral agreements focus exclusively on the liberalization of trade in goods. They do not deal with other forms of economic exchange, such as trade in services or foreign investments. Bill C-2 also contains amendments to three existing pieces of legislation, i.e., the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Act, the Customs Act and the Customs Tariff.