I would like to present you with the views of Export Development Canada (EDC) regarding the proposed amendments in Bill C-2 that would extend coverage of the Access to Information regime to the Corporation.
This legislation brings a significant change to EDC, and we believe, a positive one. Much more information on EDC will be accessible to the public, and the Corporation will be taken to a far greater level of transparency. I can assure the committee, Mr. Chairman, that at EDC we have an internal task force in place and have engaged outside expertise to ensure that we can fully comply with this legislation, and that these changes will be fully operational when required.
The Federal Accountability Act is one of the Government's top priorities. EDC has been closely following the development of this legislation, and we have appreciated the opportunity to participate and brief officials on EDC's position. EDC fully supports the approach that the government has taken on Bill C-2, in differentiating information related to the operations and administration of EDC from the valuable commercial information that we either hold or create on behalf of others.
EDC's mandate is to support and develop Canada's export trade and Canada's capacity to engage in trade. We are a Crown corporation reporting to Parliament, but we do not receive parliamentary appropriations. While wholly owned by the Government of Canada, EDC is business driven and operates on the commercial principles and norms of the private sector. Each year we work with some 7,000 Canadian companies, over 90 per cent of them small- or medium-sized businesses, from all regions of Canada, in every industry sector from forestry to automotive, trading in up to 200 markets worldwide. Most of our work is in partnership with Canadian and international financial institutions.
EDC operates in a competitive commercial environment and each day interacts with Canadian exporters and investors, their customers abroad and our partners in financial institutions around the world. As a result, we at EDC possess a wide range of commercially confidential and proprietary information that is entrusted to us by others as well as that which we produce ourselves.
EDC is already open to independent scrutiny of its administrative operations through the role of the Auditor General of Canada, and strong governance structures and reporting practices. In fact the Auditor General has recognized the strength of our reporting through her award for excellence that we have received 7 times in the past 11 years. The new measures proposed in the Access to Information Act will enhance transparency at EDC and we believe they build on the spirit and practice of our own disclosure policies.
As I have stated, EDC recognizes the importance of public accountability. However by the nature of our mandate, and our business, we also know that a change such as this can also significantly impact Canada's exporters and investors and their ability to fully use EDC services to grow their business internationally. In 2001, in bringing forward our own Disclosure Policy, we experienced the difficulty in striking that delicate balance between providing more information to enhance transparency while still safeguarding what has to be protected in a competitive international trade environment.
Under our Disclosure Policy we have regularly released more information publicly on EDC's business and its participation in individual projects than ever before. To highlight some examples, we proactively release information on transactions subject to environmental review, travel and hospitality expenses, special examinations by the Auditor General of Canada, and public consultations. In keeping with the spirit of the draft legislation, I am pleased to inform the committee, Mr. Chairman, that EDC is committed not only to fully complying with requests for information under this legislation, but also to continue proactively identifying and publishing a wider range of information and reports on our operations.
Including EDC within Section 24/Schedule II of the Access to Information Act strikes an essential balance between public access and commercial confidentiality. This section is vital if the Government wants the Act to apply to EDC, but not to its customers. Maintaining that balance is critical to enabling EDC to continue to do the work it does with Canada's exporters and investors. It is also in keeping with the standard practices adopted by financial institutions including other government financial agencies.
Including EDC within Section 18.1 specifically recognizes that because of EDC's mandate, the nature of its services, and its clients and partners, regularly receives and produces material that contains trade secrets, as well as financial, commercial, scientific or technical information that must be protected. We are pleased with that recognition, and that additional protection.
I should also add that those views are shared by our customers. I have heard from many of them, large and small throughout Canada, who believe that they would not be able to continue to work with EDC internationally if the commercially confidential information they entrusted to us was not exempt. Both the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters have also gone on the record with their concerns on this issue, seeking to protect information that truly requires protection.
In 2005 Canadian companies achieved more than $57 billion in foreign business with EDC's help and generated more than $37 billion of Canada's GDP, sustaining more than 450,000 Canadian jobs.
EDC customers and their foreign buyers should not have to worry that their commercially sensitive information could risk falling into the hands of their competitors. Section 24 puts those fears to rest. Canadian exporters and investors can be confident that their information is secure and they can continue working with EDC on their trade and investment opportunities without fear their information will be exposed. For over 60 years, EDC has been filling gaps left open by commercial banks and private insurers providing financial and risk management services to Canadian businesses seeking to grow and succeed internationally. Those services have greatly expanded the capabilities of many Canadian companies to grow their business internationally. We have an aggressive corporate plan to work with more companies in more markets. We believe that the approach in Bill C-2 will retain the confidence of our clients to continue that work.
Companies using EDC's services need to know that they will not be placed at a disadvantage to their competitors. They need to know that their commercially confidential information is protected. And the foreign buyers that EDC works with to identify international opportunities for Canadians require full protection for their commercially sensitive information. This legislation gives both groups that security, and we are thankful that the Government recognized this need.
In conclusion, the Access to Information regime proposed for EDC in Bill C-2, will make much more information on EDC accessible to the public, and that is a positive change. The legislation also ensures Canadian and foreign companies can continue to use EDC to grow their business with the assurance that truly proprietary information is safeguarded. The protection of that information is in the best interests of Canadian business, and of Canada's economy as a whole.
Thank you - merci.
