NEWS RELEASES
MARCHI ANNOUNCES TEAM CANADA INC
October 6, 1997 No. 158
MARCHI ANNOUNCES TEAM CANADA INC
International Trade Minister Sergio Marchi today announced a series of new
measures to enhance the federal government's trade promotion services and help
Canadian companies increase their exports.
These initiatives, developed in consultation with the private sector and other
federal government departments, enhance existing services in Canada's trade
promotion network, which Mr. Marchi today designated "Team Canada Inc."
"This network recognizes that we must apply the success of Team Canada on home ice
as well," said Mr. Marchi. "All levels of government and the private sector must
work together as partners to encourage and assist Canadian companies --
particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) -- in selling their products
and services around the world."
At the annual meeting of the Alliance of Manufacturers and Exporters Canada in
Quebec, Mr. Marchi outlined five new initiatives under Team Canada Inc:
the establishment of a Team Canada Inc Advisory Board chaired by Mr. Lynton (Red)
Wilson, Chairman of the Board of BCE;
a 30-percent increase in the number of Trade Commissioners assigned outside
Canada;
a new unit at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT)
to focus on the export needs of SMEs, which will be headed by Mrs. Joanna
Townsend, a businesswoman with extensive international trade experience and
current chair of the Sectoral Advisory Group on International Trade for Business
and Professional Services;
an enhanced 24-hour trade access service, available on the Internet through
ExportSource at http://exportsource.gc.ca, as well as through a toll-free
telephone number (1-888-811-1119) that connects to trade centres across the
country; and
an integrated, results-oriented business plan for trade and investment promotion,
to be presented to Treasury Board by Industry Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food
Canada and DFAIT. This will be followed by a report to Parliament by the Minister
for International Trade on the results achieved.
Industry Minister John Manley and Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Lyle Vanclief
each welcomed these measures, which had been prepared in close consultation with
them.
"Team Canada Inc is both an opportunity and a challenge for Canadian businesses of
all sizes to work with us in seizing the wealth of opportunity emerging in the
global knowledge economy," said Mr. Manley.
"I am delighted with the progress made to co-ordinate better international
business development activities across government departments and agencies, and I
see Team Canada Inc as another very positive step forward," said Mr. Vanclief.
Together, these measures constitute several steps toward fulfilling the Red Book
commitment to build on the success of Team Canada and strengthen the
competitiveness of Canadian business in the global marketplace.
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A backgrounder on Team Canada Inc is attached.
For further information, media representatives may contact:
Leslie Swartman
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister for International Trade
(613) 992-7332
Media Relations Office
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
(613) 995-1874
France Simard
Industry Canada
(613) 943-2502
Michelle Roy
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
(613) 759-7900
This document is also on DFAIT's Internet site: http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca
Backgrounder
TEAM CANADA INC
The Government of Canada is actively seeking new and innovative ways to encourage
and assist Canadian companies -- particularly small and medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs) -- in selling their products and services around the world.
To better co-ordinate new trade promotion initiatives and provide potential and
current exporters with a one-stop shopping facility, the federal government has
decided to tightly co-ordinate related resources and services. The name Team
Canada Inc reflects the close partnership between the private sector and all
levels of government that was needed in order to realize these objectives. The
following measures will be introduced under the umbrella of this new and evolving
network:
1. The creation of a Team Canada Inc Advisory Board
This committee, to be chaired by Mr. Lynton (Red) Wilson, Chairman of the Board
and CEO of BCE Inc. and author of the International Business Development Review
Report in 1994 -- whose recommendations have been used to improve the department's
service to the private sector -- will replace DFAIT's International Trade Advisory
Committee (ITAC). The new Board will be smaller, with the aim of providing counsel
more quickly. It will continue to provide advice on trade policy and market access
questions, but it will now incorporate the vital role of trade promotion and
investment. Toward the Red Book commitment to establish a trade promotion agency,
this committee will also provide advice on international business development
activities, programs and services.
2. Increasing the number of Trade Commissioners abroad
DFAIT will assign 10 additional Trade Commissioners each year to key markets
abroad until at least 70 percent of Canada's professional trade staff are working
outside the country. Currently, the department employs 463 Trade Commissioners,
with only 50 percent stationed abroad. This reallocation of resources will help
diversify Canada's penetration of priority and emerging markets abroad, enhance
its market intelligence-gathering capacity, and permit a greater emphasis on the
promotion of investment flows. The initiative was made possible by a co-ordinated
sharing of exporter preparation responsibilities among Industry Canada, regional
development agencies, the provinces and other partners in government.
3. The creation of a special SME unit at DFAIT
Currently, resources within DFAIT to assist SMEs are spread across numerous
divisions. Faced with the fact that only 10 percent of SMEs are exporters, this
unit will ensure that all trade promotion services within the department are
adapted to the needs of this important group. This unit will concentrate on the
requirements of SMEs in relation to export markets, and will ensure that all trade
promotion services are adapted to the special needs of new exporter constituencies
such as women, Aboriginals and young entrepreneurs. It will also harness Canada's
multicultural, multilingual realities to enhance trade links around the globe. It
will co-ordinate its activities with similar units in other departments and
agencies and build on the work being done by trade associations and chambers of
commerce. This unit will be headed by Mrs. Joanna Townsend, President of Townsend
Trade Strategies Inc. and current chair of DFAIT's Business and Professional
Services Sectoral Advisory Group on International Trade.
Projects being considered for this special unit include:
a government-private sector roundtable on the needs of export-ready SMEs;
SME trade missions; and
the tailoring of export programs and services to meet the needs of SMEs.
4. Enhanced 24-hour access to exporter services
This project has two components:
a) ExportSource brings together wide-ranging export-related information within a
single Web site available through the Internet at http://exportsource.gc.ca. The
site is targeted at companies interested in learning how to export, companies new
to the export business, and established exporters who want to diversify. It
provides these groups with information on market research, export financing,
export regulations/ logistics, trade statistics, export contracts, trade shows and
missions. ExportSource provides seamless service delivery for businesses, with
features allowing for single-site access and search facilities across a number of
government programs and departments, including Industry Canada, Agriculture and
Agri-food Canada and DFAIT. Efforts are being made to include all 16 federal
departments with international business development activities. Accessible
24 hours a day, 7 days a week, ExportSource is essentially a virtual export
office.
b) A 1-888 number currently connects callers to Industry Canada's Canadian
Business Service Centres across the country. Operators are available to answer
questions weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. local time, and a "fax-back" system
operates 24 hours a day. By the new year, the system will be enhanced to provide
companies with telephone access to all trade-related services beyond the Service
Centres, to include the International Trade Centres.
5. An integrated, results-oriented business plan for international business
development
The plan will be prepared annually by Industry Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food
Canada and DFAIT for presentation through the new Team Canada Inc Advisory Board
to Ministers. The Minister for International Trade will subsequently report to
Parliament on the results achieved.
Together, these measures constitute several steps toward fulfilling the Red Book
commitment to build on public-private partnerships through the Team Canada model
and to work toward the development of a trade promotion agency.
October 1997
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