User:Earl Andrew/Made in Canada Act

Made in Canada Act
The Made in Canada Act is a private member's bill that has been submitted in the Canadian House of Commons during both the 40th and 41st Canadian Parliaments. The full title of the bill is "An Act respecting the use of government procurements and transfers to promote economic development". The bill calls for the federal government to give preference to Canadian products where federal funds are used to fund infrastructure, stimulus and capital projects and in the procurement of its goods.

It was first submitted to the House of Commons as Bill C-312 by then New Democratic Party Member of Parliament Bruce Hyer on February 10, 2009. The bill was reintroduced as Bill C-392 by New Democratic Party Member of Parliament Irene Mathyssen on May 25, 2009. It was defeated upon second reading on November 4, 2011 with 67 votes in favour, and 291 against. The vote was supported by the New Democratic Party and some Liberals, and was opposed by the Bloc Québecois, the Conservatives and the rest of the Liberal caucus.

Hyer, now an independent Member of Parliament, introduced the bill once again on May 2, 2012 as Bill XXX.

Provisions
The bill calls for a minimum requirement of 50% of domestically-sourced products for all direct federal purchases in areas that lie outside of restrictions imposed by the North American Free Trade Agreement and other similar trade treaties. These areas include ship building and ship repair; urban rail and rail equipment; transit and transportation components, materials, iron, steel and equipment; and transportation services that are part of, or incidental to, a procurement contract. The bill also calls for a minimum of 50% domestically-sourced products to be used in provincial, municipal, or private projects if that project is to have access to federal funds. This applies to transfers or grants intended to fund specific, defined projects such as infrastructure projects, but not general transfers like equalization.

Exemptions are provided where there are existing trade agreements, or for example for transfers less than $100,000, where it is a domestic product of sufficient quality or quantity is not available, if the product is for use outside of the country (except ships & aerospace products), if the domestic product is more than 6% more expensive than the foreign product, if there is an emergency need for a product or it is for foreign humanitarian assistance, and exemptions exist if procurements or transfers that are specifically subject to the North American Free Trade Agreement and the World Trade Organization's Agreement on Government Procurement.

Related international legislation
The Made in Canada Act is based on similar legislation that exists in other countries. For example, the Buy American Act in the U.S. has existed since 1933 and mandates 60% US-made products in federally-supported projects involving buses, rail cars, ferries, and other transportation infrastructure. The "Buy America" movement in the U.S. calls for even stricter legislation. Canada is the only G-7 nation without some sort of domestic procurement legislation.