WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  TN/S/W/41 
25 May 2005 
 (05-2109) 
Council for Trade in Services 
Special Session Original:   English 
 
 
  
COMMUNICATION FROM CANADA 
 
Transparency: Market and Regulatory Inform ation of Interest to Service Providers
 
 
 
 The following communication, dated 20 May 200 5, from the delegation of Canada is being 
circulated to the Members of th e Council for Trade in Services 
 
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 1. One of the recurring themes of the current roun d of services negotiations has been the need 
for increased transparency.  A number of Members have made proposals related to transparency.  
Common themes of these proposals include: the need to  make legislative and regulatory information 
more publicly accessible; the need for greater transp arency with respect to the domestic regulation-
making process; and the need for greater transparency  with respect to the administration of regulatory 
procedures. 
2.  Some proposals have identified transparency essentially in government to government terms, 
recognizing the need for WTO Members to share mo re information on their regulatory regimes.  
Others recognize that steps should be taken to in crease the availability of regulatory and market 
information to our service suppliers.  A common f eature of all proposals seems to be a recognition 
that small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) stand to benefit greatly from making this type of information more readily accessible.   
3. Canada looks forward to a continued discu ssion on ways to improve rules related to 
regulatory transparency in the context of the nego tiating process.  However, we also see significant 
and immediate advantages to making information available on the Canadian services market and 
regulatory framework.  In this re gard, Canada has developed a “cont act point” website that provides a 
gateway to various information resources on Canada and services trade.  The online contact point 
includes a wide variety of information related to the supply of services across all modes, Canadian 
services technology, and information at a sector al level, including business opportunities.  
4. Canada hopes that this information will be of pa rticular use to SMEs, and to service suppliers 
from developing countries.  Article IV.2 of th e GATS acknowledges the benefits of facilitating 
developing country service suppliers’ access to mark et and regulatory information by calling on 
developed-country Members to establish contact points.   In February 1997, in response to paragraph 4 
of GATS Article III and paragraph 2 of Article  IV, Canada presented a GATS contact point 
(communication S/ENQ/38).   Canada’s Online GATS Contact Point builds upon the objectives of 
Article IV paragraph 2 by creating an online porta l through which developi ng and developed-country 
service suppliers can quickly access this information.  The website is available on Canada’s Department of International Trade website at  the following url: www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/tna-
nac/TS/contact-point-en.asp  TN/S/W/41 
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 5. We are committed to continuing to refine this  contact point and will take under consideration 
any suggestions that Members may have.  As this information is likely to be of most benefit to 
Members’ service providers, we would encourage all WTO Members to consider ways in which this website could be promoted within their respective service industries. 
 
 
  TN/S/W/41 
 Page 3 
 
 
 CANADA’S ONLINE GATS CONTACT POINT : 
 
www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/tna-nac/TS/contact-point-en.asp  
  Canada's on-line General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) contact point is an 
initiative aimed at providing information on the Canadian services market that will help 
developing country service suppliers sell thei r services in Canada. A key objective of the 
GATS, and one that is strongly shared by Ca nada, is to increase the participation of 
developing countries in world services trade. Article IV of the GATS agreement calls on 
developed country WTO members to establish contact points to facilitate the access of 
developing country Members’ service suppliers to information related to their respective 
markets concerning:  
• commercial and technical aspects of the supply of services;  
• registration, recognition and obtaining of professional qualifications, and;  
• the availability of services technology.  
Canada's online GATS contact point provides an  avenue through which developing country 
 service suppliers can obtain this information quickly and accurately.1 
 
I. COMMERCIAL AND TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF THE SUPPLY OF SERVICES IN 
CANADA 
1. All Modes of Service Supply 
 Canada International :  http://canadainternational.gc.ca/ci/main_menu-en.aspx  
  Government of Canada Gate way providing information on: 
- Going to Canada;  
- Doing business with Canada, and; 
- Canada and the world. 
  Canadian Business Map
:  http://commercecan.ic.gc. ca/scdt/bizmap/interface2.nsf/  
 
 Internet portal site accessing international, national, provincial, territorial and municipal 
 business information.   Business Gateway: http ://businessgateway.ca/ 
 
 
Main Government of Canada portal for Canadian businesses, featuring the ability to view 
integrated Federal, Provincial and Territorial information.   
                                                      
1  The sole purpose of this site is  to facilitate the access of services suppliers, particularly developing 
country services suppliers, to information on the Canadian services market.  It does not form part of Canada's trade in services obligations or commitments under any international agreement to which it is a party, nor does it 
have any legal value or status with respect to th e interpretation of such obligations or commitments. TN/S/W/41 
Page 4  
 
  
2. Mode 3 Commercial Presence 
 Invest in Canada
: http://www.investincanada.gc.ca/  
 
 Resources for exploring and pl anning foreign investment a nd new business in Canada.  
 
3. Mode 4 Temporary Entry 
 Working Temporarily in Canada : http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/work/index.html  
   Information on working temporarily in Canada 
 
 Temporary Entry for Business Persons
: 
 http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pub/you-asked/section-18.html  
  Information on the temporary worker prov isions of Canada’s trade agreements. 
 
 Foreign Worker Program
: 
 http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/en/gatew ays/nav/top_nav/program/fw.shtml  
  The Foreign Worker Program seeks to improve  the Canadian labour market by ensuring that 
qualified foreign workers are admitted to work in Canada for jobs or vacancies that cannot 
readily be filled by Canadians and only when  reasonable efforts have been made by 
employers to hire or train Canadian residents or permanent residents.  
 
4. Background on Canada’s Serv ices Regulatory Regime  
 Regulatory Affairs and Orders in Council Secretariat
: http://www.pco-bcp.gc.ca/raoics-srdc/  
 
The Privy Council Office Regulatory Affairs and Orders in Council Secretariat website serves 
as a convenient on-line resource on Canada’s regulatory regime. 
 
 - Smart Regulation : http://www.regulation.gc.ca/  
 
 Background on Canada’s regul atory renewal initiatives. 
  Department of Justice Canada
: http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/index.html  
  Search or browse Federal acts and regulations. Provides links to Provincial website resources. 
 
 Canada Gazette
 : http://canadagazette.gc.ca/index-e.html  
  The Canada Gazette  contains all formal public notices and official appointments; proposed 
regulations; regulations; and publ ic acts of Parliament fro m government departments and 
agencies. Miscellaneous public notices from private sector organizations, that are required by 
statute to publish the notices and disseminate th e information to the public are also published 
in the Canada Gazette .  
  TN/S/W/41 
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 II. REGISTRATION, RECOGNITION OF, AND OBTAINING PROFESSIONAL 
QUALIFICATIONS 
 Canadian Information Centre  for International Credentials : http://www.cicic.ca/indexe.stm  
  The Canadian Information Centre for Interna tional Credentials (CICIC) collects, organizes, 
and distributes information, and acts as a national clearing house and referral service to 
support the recognition and portability of Ca nadian and international educational and 
occupational qualifications. 
 
III. AVAILABILITY OF SERVICES TECHNOLOGY 
 Innovation in Canada
: http://innovation.gc.ca/  
 
A growing inventory of research, public input and links to government and private sector resources.   
 
 Innovation, Science and Technology and Research
: http://innovation.gc.ca/  
  Provides links related to innovation, science and technology, and research.  
 
IV. INFORMATION ON CANADA’S SERVICES SECTORS 
 Finance Canada Departmental Website
: http://www.fin.gc.ca/  
 
 Information on Canada’s financial services sector.  
- Financial Services
: http://www.fin.gc.ca/access/fininste.html#Trade  
 
 Information on Canada’s financial services sector. 
  Industry Canada Departmental Website:
 http://www.ic.gc.ca/cmb/welcomeic.nsf/  
 
- Canadian Services Sectors : http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/inic-
ic.nsf/en/h_dh00003e.html  
 
Background information on various Canadian services sectors. 
 - Telecommunications Services
: http://strategis.gc.ca/epic/internet/insmt-
gst.nsf/en/h_sf05480e.html  
 
 Regulations, policies and other informat ion on Canada’s telecommunication services 
sector. 
 
 Transport Canada Departmental Website : http://www.tc.gc.ca/  
 
 Information on Canada’s Transport Services Sectors. 
 
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