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LLP and part of the firm's interna- tional trade and investment law group. Government procurement is attracting increasing scrutiny and attention in part because of the rounds of stimulus spending enacted in recent years by developed countries trying to kick-start their economies and the critical role played by existing and proposed trade agreements in guaranteeing access to that spending by foreign suppliers. All that attention is warranted: gov- ernments account for a large and grow- ing share of overall spending, account- ing for between 12 and 14 per cent of gross domestic product in Canada and the United States. As the larg- est purchasers of goods and services in their respective economies, foreign access to government contracts on an equal footing with domestic suppliers is understandably the focus of trade negotiators. Steve Verheul, Canada's chief trade negotiator in the EU-Canada trade talks, told The Globe and Mail late last year that a major concession his European counterparts are calling for is open access to government procure- ment — not just federal spending but at the provincial and municipal levels. "We've never really negotiated those areas with a trading partner in a free- trade agreement," he said. "The EU has indicated that's probably their No. 1 objective." The spur to Ottawa to ink a pact with Europe comes down to the promise of an increase in cross-Atlantic trade and a lessening of dependence on north- south trade with the United States. A joint Canada-EU study predicted Canada's GDP could be increased about $12 billion and bilateral trade would rise by 20 per cent to about $38 billion in two-way trade. International trade lawyers agree that granting such access to the EU or any other trading partner will be a game changer. "The Europeans have viewed access to sub-federal procure- ment in Canada as the golden egg," says Gerry Stobo, a partner and trade lawyer in the Ottawa office of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, whose practice includes government contracting and procurement law. Stobo believes a Canada-EU trade deal will get done, but that it may take longer than the year-end prediction of the participants. "I think there are some very difficult issues that have to be solved, not just on the procure- ment chapter," he says. Farm subsidies, for one, remain a major hurdle. And while getting Canada's disparate group of provincial governments to agree on anything can be difficult, Stobo believes the provinces "are generally supportive" of the trade deal. A key reason behind that grow- ing acceptance among the sub-federal GET AN INSIDER'S PERSPECTIVE ON THE CIRB CLARKE'S CANADA INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS BOARD GRAHAM J. CLARKE For almost two decades, this work has covered all developments at the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) and its predecessor board. You get expert commentary on more than 30 years of Board decisions and the key statutory and jurisprudential changes over that same period. Benefit from: • annotations for all of the Board's published decisions and hundreds of court decisions, both reported and unreported ORDER # 804276-60338 $282 2 volume looseleaf supplemented book Supplements invoiced separately 2 supplements per year. 0-88804-276-0 Shipping and handling are extra. Price subject to change without notice and subject to applicable taxes. • commentary on the Canada Labour Code and extensive cross-references between sections dealing with the Board's jurisdiction over industrial relations and occupational health and safety • a section on the Board's regulations including annotations, commentary and cross- references to previous regulations To prepare you for CIRB hearings, this text covers practice issues including adjournments, costs, objections and the awarding of interest. Also benefit from a selection of Forms and Information Circulars as they are published by the CIRB. AVAILABLE RISK-FREE FOR 30 DAYS Order online at www.canadalawbook.ca | Call Toll-Free: 1-800-387-5164 In Toronto: 416-609-3800 CANADA LAW BOOK® Carswell_IH_June_11.indd 1 26 • JUNE 2011 INHOUSE 5/6/11 12:14:40 PM