Established on February 4, 2011, the Regulatory Cooperation Council’s (RCC) Canadian and American members have met regularly. The following is a list of RCC meetings and events that have occurred:
June 20, 2013
Meeting of Canada-United States Regulatory Cooperation Council
Meeting Outcomes:
On June 20 in Washington, D.C., the Canada-United States Regulatory Cooperation Council (RCC) held its second stakeholder event, the first having taken place in January 2012.
The plenary session, held in the morning at the Canadian Embassy, was kicked-off by the RCC Co-Chairs from Canada’s Privy Council Office and the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. The Co-Chairs reiterated the continued high-level support for the RCC initiatve and plans to explore potential next steps in the evolution of the initiative.
The plenary session also included a panel of industry representatives, drawn from the automobile, consumer products, food, and home appliance sectors, who provided practical insights on the impacts of misaligned regulations and voiced support for continued and enhanced cooperation between Canada and the United States.
The morning ended with an open question-and-answer session with the RCC Co-Chairs who emphasized the importance of ongoing dialogue and input from stakeholders over the coming months.
The general overview presentation delivered by Canadian and U.S. RCC officials is available in PDF (76 KB) or in PPT (631KB).
The morning plenary session was attended by over 250 Canadian and American stakeholders and government officials.
On the afternoon of June 20, the Woodrow Wilson Center hosted a series of breakout sessions providing stakeholders with detailed technical updates from the Canadian and American regulators working on implementing each of the 29 Joint Action Plan initiatives.
Video recordings (English only) and copies of the presentations for all June 20 RCC events, including the morning plenary and afternoon breakout sessions, are available on the Woodrow Wilson Center website.
June 19, 2013
RCC Stakeholder Dialogue Session
Meeting Outcomes:
The Canada-United States Regulatory Cooperation Council (RCC) met in Washington, D.C., on June 19, 2013, to discuss work under the 2011 Joint Action Plan, the next steps in furthering Canada-U.S. regulatory alignment, and the role of the Council moving forward.
Discussions included planning for upcoming stakeholder dialogue over the summer and early fall of 2013, through which stakeholders will be asked to provide input on the next phase of RCC work, barriers to deeper cooperation, ideas on the design and form of cooperation going forward, and appropriate ways to ensure ongoing engagement of stakeholders.
Canada – U.S. RCC members from Canada include senior officials from the Privy Council Office (Co-Chair), Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Development Canada, Industry Canada, and the Treasury Board Secretariat; members from the U.S. include senior officials from: the Office of Management and Budget (Co-Chair), Department of Commerce, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and the Department of State.
The Government-to-Government RCC activities on June 19 also included a workshop on cooperation involving RCC members and senior officials from Canadian and U.S. regulatory agencies, and bilateral agency-to-agency meetings on the RCC initiatives.
February 4-5, 2013
Canada-United States RCC Meetings
Meeting Outcomes:
RCC senior officials met in Washington, DC on February 4 and 5, 2013 to discuss priorities concerning the implementation of work plan commitments, including enhancing the focus on ongoing alignment mechanisms aimed at avoid unnecessary regulatory differences in the future. There were also discussions on concrete ways to enhance stakeholder participation in work plan implementation and helping to inform the future of Canada-U.S. regulatory cooperation. RCC officials also participated in an event organized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, involving approximately 130 stakeholders from both Canada and the U.S.
The joint Canada-U.S. RCC presentation is available in PDF (69.6 KB) or in PPT (509KB).
December 14, 2012
The Canada-United States Regulatory Cooperation Council delivers its Progress Report to Leaders
October 23 and November 27, 2012
Canada-United States RCC Meetings
Meeting Outcomes:
RCC senior officials met in Washington on October 23 and again on November 27 to discuss progress made on the RCC Joint Action Plan work plans. Officials discussed areas of potential secretariat-led research aimed at addressing some of the cross-cutting barriers to regulatory alignment emerging from the working group efforts, including information sharing and fund sharing. Next steps were discussed for deepening Canada-U.S. regulatory alignment and encouraging continued stakeholder engagement in the ongoing work. Preparations regarding the December release of the Progress Report to Leaders was also discussed.
May 17 and July 25, 2012
Canada-United States RCC Meetings
Meeting Outcomes:
These meetings saw senior RCC officials meet to finalize remaining work plan-related issues and begin to look ahead at the work of the RCC over the coming 12 months. It was agreed that with implementation well underway on the December 2011 Joint Action Plan, work could begin on the development of next steps, potential options for ongoing alignment mechanisms, and further analytical work on the benefits of regulatory alignment.
February 10, 2012
Canada-United States RCC Meeting
Meeting Outcomes:
This meeting was a follow-up to the January 2012 stakeholder sessions in Washington. RCC officials discussed the steps necessary to finalize the work plans including:
- Ensuring all feedback from stakeholders was received and appropriately inputted;
- Reviewing outstanding issues related to work plan finalization; and
- Planning the work to ensure work plans aligned with the objectives laid out in the Joint Action Plan.
January 31, 2012
Working Group Stakeholder Advisory Sessions
Meeting Outcomes:
Individual stakeholder advisory sessions to allow working group leads to present draft work plans and get input and feedback from stakeholders. [more. . .]
January 30, 2012
RCC Stakeholder Session
Meeting Objectives:
First stakeholder session to share RCC objectives and to obtain views on the RCC initiative. [more. . .]
December 7, 2011
The Prime Minister of Canada and President of the United States announce the RCC Joint Action Plan
November 22, 2011
Canada-United States RCC Meeting
Meeting Outcomes:
Discussion with working group leads regarding the overall RCC Joint Action Plan and regulatory cooperation between Canada and the United States.
August 23, 2011
Canada-United States RCC Meeting
Meeting Outcomes:
Further refinement of the draft RCC Joint Action Plan, working group model, next steps.
July 28, 2011
Canada-United States RCC Meeting
Meeting Outcomes:
Discussion of the first draft of the RCC Joint Action Plan.
July 21, 2011
Issue-Specific Bilateral Meetings
Meeting Outcomes:
These meetings saw Canada and the United States continue their Joint Action Plan issue-specific discussions (environment, consumer products) between regulatory departments and the RCC Secretariat. The meeting’s objective was to determine, from amongst identified potential opportunities, the best fit for the chosen Joint Action Plan initiatives.
July 14-15, 2011
Issue-Specific Bilateral Meetings
Meeting Outcomes:
On July 14 and 15, 2011, Canada and the United States conducted a series of Joint Action Plan issue-specific (agriculture, health, transportation) meetings between regulatory departments from both sides of the border and the RCC Secretariat. The objective of these meetings was to determine, from amongst identified potential opportunities, the best fit for the chosen Joint Action Plan initiatives.
July 8, 2011
Canada-United States RCC Meeting
Meeting Outcomes:
On July 8, 2011, Canada and the United States discussed the development process for the RCC Joint Action Plan, identified a list of opportunities, and developed a strategy for effecting future refinements to the draft document.
June 3, 2011
Canada-United States RCC Meeting
Meeting Outcomes:
Finalized Terms of Reference for the RCC.
May 13, 2011
Canada-United States RCC Meeting
Meeting Outcomes:
At this meeting, Canadian and United States representatives discussed establishing a set of Terms of Reference to formalize a mandate and guiding principles for the RCC initiative. Meeting discussions also focused on the potential structural organization of the RCC, preliminary forward planning. A dialogue regarding acceptable RCC initiative expectations and a structural operating model also occurred.
February 4, 2011
Creation of the Regulatory Cooperation Council
The Prime Minister of Canada and President of the United States announce the creation of the Regulatory Cooperation Council