(Disponible uniquement en anglais)
Via email: dominic.leblanc@parl.gc.ca
The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, P.C., M.P.
President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada
Minister responsible for Canada‑U.S. Trade, Intergovernmental Affairs and One Canadian Economy
House of Commons
Ottawa ON, K1A 0A6
Dear Minister LeBlanc,
On behalf of the Competition Law and Foreign Investment Review Section, the Commodity Tax and Trade Section, the International Law Section, and the Business Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association (CBA), please accept our congratulations on your appointment as Minister responsible for Canada‑U.S. Trade, Intergovernmental Affairs and One Canadian Economy. Your mandate—to foster a strong, barrier‑free domestic market while safeguarding Canada’s position under the Canada‑United States‑Mexico Agreement (CUSMA)—is critical to the prosperity and unity of the country.
The CBA is a national association of more than 40,000 lawyers, notaries, academics and law students dedicated to improving the law and the administration of justice. Our Sections bring together practitioners who work daily at the intersection of trade, competition, taxation and business—expertise we hope will assist you in advancing both interprovincial and cross‑border objectives.
Our Competition Law and Foreign Investment Review Section has a long history of engagement on competition and investment policy. Competition, and the consumer benefits it delivers, remains central to the case for dismantling internal trade barriers. In today’s turbulent economic environment, competition considerations will inform many aspects of your work. We expect the Competition Bureau will continue bringing this lens to decisions on barriers that impede market efficiency. Our members would welcome opportunities to provide input whenever competition and foreign investment issues arise within your mandate.
The Commodity Tax and Trade Section includes practitioners who advise on GST/HST, customs and excise matters—areas directly affected by provincial divergence and by CUSMA‑related rules of origin and customs‑administration requirements. We can offer practical insight into how fiscal friction slows interprovincial commerce and cross‑border supply chains. We can also propose avenues for harmonization that would reinforce a barrier‑free One Canadian Economy.
Drawing on a broad corporate‑commercial perspective, the Business Law Section sees firsthand how internal barriers and CUSMA developments shape investment decisions, supply‑chain resilience and the competitiveness of Canadian enterprises. Our members can contribute business‑focused analysis on priorities such as streamlined corporate registration, labour‑mobility frameworks and procurement alignment—domestically and in a North American context.
The International Law Section offers deep expertise in the negotiation, implementation and dispute‑settlement provisions of CUSMA, as well as the WTO and other multilateral fora. Our practitioners have acted in state‑to‑state and investor‑state disputes and advised on North American regulatory cooperation. We stand ready to assist on issues such as the forthcoming CUSMA six‑year review, digital‑trade disciplines, sustainable‑trade initiatives and emerging U.S. trade‑remedy measures.
Should it be helpful, we would be pleased to arrange a joint briefing or roundtable, at your convenience, to identify priority areas where CBA expertise can support your objectives. Please feel free to have your staff contact Noel Corriveau, Advocacy Lawyer at the CBA, at ncorriveau@cba.org,
to coordinate next steps.
Yours sincerely,
(original signed by Noel Corriveau on behalf of the Section Chairs listed below)
Neil Campbell
Chair, Competition Law and Foreign Investment Review Section
Brent Murray
Chair, Commodity Tax and Trade Section
Laura James
Chair, Business Law Section
Sean Stephenson
Chair, International Law Section