Committee Director, Amesika Baëta.

I.E.Canada’s committees are preparing for a busy year as there are many customs, trade and other initiatives to be addressed in 2010. The committees will continue to play an essential role in providing our members with a forum to discuss issues that are important to them provide feedback for our submissions and meetings with government officials, as well as learn and share valuable industry knowledge and up-to-date information.

The Customs & Legislation (C&L) Committee, the largest committee with over 55 active members, has a broad mandate covering issues relating to the requirements and procedures for the importation of goods into Canada. Under the leadership of the newly re-elected co-chairs, Tracey Speares, Logistics Specialist at Johnson & Johnson Medical Products and Oryst Dydynsky, Vice President of Cross Border and Regulatory Affairs at The Descartes Systems Group Inc., the committee will be tackling issues such as eManifest, the Customs Self-Assessment (CSA) program, Administrative Monetary Penalty System (AMPS), Courier Low Value Shipments Program, Other Government Department (OGD) Single Window Initiative. With a diverse career in global trade, Tracey’s experience has encompassed a variety of areas including vendor compliance, internal compliance and audit programs, NAFTA, eManifest, the CSA program, AMPS, logistics and transportation operations management. With a 30 year career with Canada Customs, Oryst assists the trading community in complying with the vast array of new security initiatives. He provides a source of the most current trade and technological solutions available to streamline the movement of freight across the border. The C&L committee meets for an hour every second Tuesday of each month, to provide members with a quick update regarding on-going initiatives, as well as to provide an opportunity for members discuss pressing industry related questions, issues and concerns. On Tuesday, February 9, 2010, the committee is holding an in person meeting at Johnson & Johnson Medical Products (200 Whitehall Drive, Markham, ON) to discuss priority issues for 2010 as well as other committee activities.

The Export (EX) Committee assists I.E.Canada members understand Canadian export requirements with regards to uncontrolled and controlled exports. With a core group of actively engaged and passionate members, the EX committee is eager to continue working on its mandate which includes six priority issues: OGD Single Window Initiative; Goods Permit Regime; Export of Technical Data Requirements; Restricted Party Listings and Requirements to Screen; Export Operations and Reporting; and Voluntary Disclosure Program. Under the new leadership of Olga Morgan, Senior Manager of Customs Compliance and Cost Control, Toromont CAT and Tom Jones, Senior Partner, Canadian Export Consulting Services (CECS), the EX committee will continue to bring export related issues and challenges to the forefront in our consultations with the relevant government departments. With over 17 years of experience in trade, Olga has been instrumental in leading two complex projects at Toromont; developing processes towards attaining CSA approval, and implementing export controls infrastructure specifically designed to manage goods covered by the Controlled Goods Directorate and the US International Arms Regulations (ITAR). For more than 14 years, Tom was Deputy Director (Technology), Export Controls Division, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, where he participated in multilateral negotiations regarding the technical parameters of goods and technology contained in Canada’s Export Control List, and the harmonization of policies and procedures amongst all participating countries. The EX committee meets for an hour every second Wednesday of each month.

I.E.Canada’s Trade Security Committee (TSC) focuses its efforts on domestic and international supply chain security legislation, regulations, practices and programs. Debby Sung, Logistics Analyst, Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) and Emil Fiorantis, Director, Special Projects, Dominion Customs Consulting Inc. have been elected committee co-chairs for the 2009-2010 period. Debby coordinates multi aspects of MEC’s supply chain services, including inbound logistics, supply chain security and trade vendor compliance in both import and export. With experience also in freight forwarding and manufacturing industries, Debby’s passion for international trade and supply chain management will be an added value for the TSC. With over 15 years experience in customs, Emil assists companies across North America design, develop and implement innovative commodity tax and supply chain solutions. Re-elected for another term as co-chair, Emil provides invaluable insight and expertise to the committee. Debby and Emil are both eager to continue the committee’s mandate to influence the development of trade security policy and programs, such as the Partners in Protection (PIP) Program. The TSC committee meeting schedule for 2010 will be confirmed shortly.

As I.E.Canada draws on the expertise of committee members for submissions, proposals and letters on various government initiatives, policies and programs, the co-chairs encourage I.E.Canada members to join any of the committees and become actively engaged. Member participation in the committees is critical in ensuring the needs, concerns and interests of the trading community are captured and relayed to the Canadian government and different industry stakeholders.

For more information regarding the committees’ schedules; previous meeting minutes; memos; and submissions, please go to members only section of I.E.Canada’s website (click here).

If you would like more information about any of our committees and their upcoming meetings, please feel free to contact Amesika Baëta, Committee Director, at abaeta@iecanada.com.

This article was written by Amesika Baëta, Committee Director, I.E.Canada .

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• Upcoming Committe Meetings & Events
• Ensuring Compliance- Highway eManifest & Customs Changes in 2010
• 5th Annual Food Forum
• 7th Annaul Western Canada Conference
• The Customs Duty and International Trade Course
• Importing Into Canada

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Disclaimer - I.E.Now is designed to provide members with the most up-to-date trade information from a variety of sources. The information we feature does not necessarily reflect the association's opinion on a given international trade issue. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information notedin the daily e-mail, government policies are constantly evolving. The Canadian Association of Importers and Exporters Inc. cannot assume any responsibility for actions taken solely or principally on the basis of the information provided.