Bill C-20 (Historical)

Canada-Honduras Economic Growth and Prosperity Act

An Act to implement the Free Trade Agreement between Canada and the Republic of Honduras, the Agreement on Environmental Cooperation between Canada and the Republic of Honduras and the Agreement on Labour Cooperation between Canada and the Republic of Honduras

This enactment implements the Free Trade Agreement and the related agreements on environmental and labour cooperation entered into between Canada and the Republic of Honduras and done at Ottawa on November 5, 2013.
The general provisions of the enactment specify that no recourse may be taken on the basis of the provisions of Part 1 of the enactment or any order made under that Part, or the provisions of the Free Trade Agreement or the related agreements themselves, without the consent of the Attorney General of Canada.
Part 1 of the enactment approves the Free Trade Agreement and the related agreements and provides for the payment by Canada of its share of the expenditures associated with the operation of the institutional aspects of the agreements and the power of the Governor in Council to make orders for carrying out the provisions of the enactment.
Part 2 of the enactment amends existing laws in order to bring them into conformity with Canada’s obligations under the Free Trade Agreement and the related agreement on labour cooperation entered into between Canada and the Republic of Honduras.
Part 3 of the enactment contains coordinating amendments and the coming into force provision.

Canada-Honduras Economic Growth and Prosperity Act

[John Carmichael, Conservative, Don Valley West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from South Surrey—White Rock—Cloverdale for his excellent presentation. From a tourism perspective, there is not a nicer part of the country to visit.

It is with great pleasure that I rise today in this place to speak to the Canada-Honduras free trade agreement. In particular, I would like to say a few words about the issue of corporate social responsibility and how it relates to this agreement.

Corporate social responsibility can be defined as the voluntary activities undertaken by a company to operate in an economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable manner. It is also increasingly referred to as responsible business practices. It covers a broad range of activities, including environmental protection, human rights, labour relations, corporate governance, transparency, community relations, peace and security, and anti-corruption measures.

Our government recognizes the importance of corporate social responsibility in a globally competitive, well-regarded extractive sector. Our government encourages and expects Canadian companies working internationally to respect all applicable laws and international standards, to operate transparently and in consultation with host governments and local communities, and to develop and implement corporate social responsibility best practices.

Canada has a long-standing commitment to promoting and encouraging responsible business practices by Canadian companies operating overseas. For instance, Canada has been a key driver and supporter of the numerous other important international instruments, including the International Finance Corporation's Performance Standards on Social and Environmental Sustainability, the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative, the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, and most recently, the United Nations' Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

This clearly demonstrates that this government's commitment to international corporate social responsibility standards is a fundamental ongoing priority. Our government has turned this commitment into concrete action in a number of ways, including by integrating robust corporate social responsibility provisions into many bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements, of which the Canada-Honduras free trade agreement is no exception.

Another concrete example is Canada's corporate social responsibility strategy for the international extractive sector, also known as building the Canadian advantage. The strategy was announced in March 2009 after extensive cross-country consultations with a number of key stakeholders. It has proven to be a strong framework by which our government encourages and promotes responsibility, responsible business practices by Canadian companies working internationally in the extractive sector.

Our support for the international corporate social responsibility guidelines in principle extends this reach to all business sectors operating anywhere in the world. Therefore, our government encourages and expects Canadian companies working internationally to, one, respect all applicable laws and international standards, including those that pertain to human rights and environment, and two, operate transparently and in consultation with host governments and local communities.

I want to be clear. The vast majority of Canadian companies conduct their operations in line with international standards for responsible business conduct. This is a key reason why Canadian companies are highly regarded and respected around the globe. It is also one of the reasons why Canada is a leader in the global extraction sector.

I wish to comment briefly on Canada's approach, which emphasizes voluntary activities as opposed to regulations, obligatory actions, and punitive measures. Canada has worked hard in support of many corporate social responsibility guidelines, as we understand their value to Canadian companies operating abroad. In fact, they often provide valuable guidance, which allows our companies to succeed. This is reinforced by actions of Canadian companies. There has been a substantial transformation on the part of the private sector with respect to corporate social responsibility.

Today, Canadian companies operating abroad recognize that corporate social responsibility and responsible business practices are fundamentally important to their ultimate success and their bottom line, including shareholder value. They recognize that a commitment to responsible business practice is a commitment to their own success. In a sense, corporate social responsibility has been mainstreamed into the management and operational structure of Canadian companies.

Last June, the Prime Minister announced that our government will be establishing new mandatory reporting standards for Canadian extractive companies, with a view to enhancing transparency on the payments they make to governments. This effort, which will also help to ensure that citizens in resource-rich countries around the world are better informed and benefit from the natural resources in their country, builds on Canada's key role as a supporting country of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. These initiatives on transparency highlight our government's commitment to working with our trading partners to pursue policies that support a responsible and sustainable investment environment in the best interests of host communities and businesses.

Responsible business conduct reinforces the positive effects that trade and investment can have on human rights, labour standards, the environment, and competitiveness. At the same time, it has a significant positive effect on the communities in which the businesses operate. The Canada-Honduras free trade agreement includes provisions on corporate social responsibility because our government believes that liberalized, rules-based trade and social and environmental responsibility go hand in hand.

The parallel agreements on labour co-operation and environmental co-operation ensure that increased business between our two nations does not come at the expense of our social and environmental responsibilities. Activities to promote responsible business practices can also be undertaken in the form of trade-related co-operation. Provisions in these agreements encourage both governments to promote voluntary principles of responsible business conduct with their business communities. Not only do these agreements advance our government's efforts to promote corporate social responsibility; they also provide an opportunity to engage partners to increase its promotion.

Both Canada and Honduras have agreed to support positive corporate social responsibility practices and to remind companies of the importance of incorporating corporate social responsibility standards in their internal practices. A fundamentally important aspect of this bilateral approach is that it helps level the playing field for Canadian investors when they invest in Honduras, by encouraging corporate social responsibility principles amongst all investors. At its core, responsible business practices incorporate social, economic, and environmental concerns into the daily operations of firms to benefit industry and society, with particular consideration for the community in which they are operating. Given that Canada and Honduras have a significant investment relationship, it was critical to include corporate social responsibility in these important agreements.

Our government has shown its commitment to promoting corporate social responsibility and responsible business practices internationally and is pleased to work with trade partners to broaden this commitment. The Canada-Honduras free trade agreement recognizes this and is an important mechanism to create jobs, opportunities, and prosperity for Canadians in a socially and environmentally responsible manner.

For these reasons, I ask all hon. members for their support of this very important agreement.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I listened carefully as the hon. member spoke a lot about corporate social responsibility and how important that is to Canadians. However, I think Canadians are also expecting government democratic responsibility.

Honduras is an undemocratic country, with one of the worst human rights records in the world. It has the highest murder rate of journalists on the planet. It is a major cocaine trafficking centre. It tolerates environmentally destructive policies.

Honduras ranks 104th on Canada's list of trade partners and DFAIT itself acknowledges that this deal would provide only marginal benefits to Canadian exporters.

Honduras permits corporate actions that harm the environment, violating indigenous rights and the wishes of local populations, and permits a lot of paramilitary death squads to operate, intimidating citizens and committing violent acts against those who raise peaceful voices of dissent.

Canadians would not support a trade agreement with the previous government of Ukraine or North Korea or Iran. Why does the current government believe that Canadians would support an agreement with Honduras, which has an equally bad record of violating the democratic and human rights standards not only of Honduras but also of Canada and the world?

[John Carmichael, Conservative, Don Valley West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we are a pro-trade government. That is what we do. We believe in trade. We believe in jobs, job creation, and prosperity for all Canadians. In entering a agreement like this, employing some of the standards and priorities that I have just articulated, it is critical that we work with our partners to ensure that they are carry those same values.

While the member certainly can promote an isolationist-type of environment, where we just stay at home, where we are anti-trade and do not participate in global markets, that is not the government's approach and not the one we on our side of the House will take in this agreement.

[Harold Albrecht, Conservative, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his emphasis on opportunity, job creation, growth, and trade.

I have had the opportunity to visit Honduras on a number of occasions and do dentistry in some of the remote parts of Honduras, seeing the kinds of efforts that the Honduran people make to increase the standard of living in their country. I certainly applaud all of those efforts.

As my colleague has a bit of time left, I wonder if he would outline some of the positive effects that increased investment and increased trade with Honduras would bring to the Honduran people, who are asking for this. If he could just give me a couple of examples, that would be great.

[John Carmichael, Conservative, Don Valley West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have not been to Honduras, but I have had an opportunity to meet with some of those in the extractive sector, in the mining industry, who talk about social responsibility and an opportunity to give back to the communities where they work and employ local inhabitants. In doing so, they are not only growing those environments, those neighbourhoods, creating a more prosperous environment for people to live in within a more sustainable world, but also taking there the medical and dental practices lacking in those countries as an example, to help people in need where they do not have those skill sets available.

[Pierre Dionne Labelle, NDP, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, today is a sad day. I have to wonder, when I hear the member talk about these principles and about corporate social responsibility.

What is the Government of Canada's social responsibility?

The member says that he is pro-trade. The Hells Angels are too.

Who were those negotiators from Honduras; who were those people we negotiated with? They were people responsible for murders and acts of violence, people who killed journalists and union activists.

I am not surprised to hear this sort of logic from the Conservatives. However, I think it is disgusting that the Liberal Party, including the member for Westmount—Ville-Marie, who ran in the leadership race to become prime minister and whom I consider to be a man of integrity, is okay with Canada signing this agreement with the most violent country in Latin America, where democracy is violated the most. That is what I am most sad about today.

[John Carmichael, Conservative, Don Valley West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, what we are hearing clearly demonstrates the type of values the opposition members bring to the House, values that are anti-trade and close-minded, and which just do not allow for expansionist thinking and opportunity.

I do not know if the member was in the room when I presented my speech, but the Canada-Honduras free trade agreement includes provisions on corporate social responsibility. We are sharing those provisions and our responsibilities with our partners on the other side of this agreement.

Somewhere we have to start to build a bridge. I hear the member on some of the issues, but I do not believe that closing ourselves off, staying entirely in Canada, being anti-trade and anti-growth and anti-prosperity, is going to do what we need to do in the rest of the world. We need to expand global markets.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, it is with pleasure that I rise today to speak to Bill C-20. Maybe I should start by commenting on the remarks of my colleague from the New Democratic Party, who confirms why the NDP members often scare business. It is a scary proposition if we stop to think about their attitudes toward trade. They can put up walls and prevent merchandise from coming into the country, but I give this advice to my New Democratic colleagues: they might want to open their minds to the facts of how important trade is to Canada.

It is estimated that up to 80% of economic activity or jobs in Canada are attributable to trade. Canada is a trading nation. In response the NDP members say, well, we are talking about trade between Canada and Honduras. I listened to their comments on Bill C-20. They say that Honduras is a bad country, a very bad country. I get that message. That is what they are saying. Do they know that there is currently over a quarter of a billion dollars of trade between our two countries? Are they suggesting that we should abandon that trade also? Are they suggesting that Canada should not trade with nations like Honduras, period?

We should be concerned about that. I can appreciate that in the history of our nation, the NDP has never voted in favour of a trade agreement. It has never done that. It does not seem to recognize that there is some value to trade. In representing their constituents, New Democrats need to realize that many of them have their jobs because of world trade. We should not fear trade, but recognize that there are opportunities for Canada to benefit from it.

Those are the questions I have posed to the government and New Democrats. Let us recognize the value of trade if we manage that file right.

I will get to the Honduras trade agreement specifically, but when we look at the overall trade balance, we see that that when the Conservatives inherited government, there was a multi-billion trade surplus. Today we have a multi-billion trade deficit. What does that mean? Other than stating the fact that Conservatives have done a poor job on the trade file overall, it means that Canada has been deprived of tens of thousands of good, solid jobs. Do not underestimate the impact this has had on the middle class in Canada, because the government of the day has not done its homework.

In part we have to bring this right to the Office of the Prime Minister. One of the speakers talked about the government reaching 37 trade agreements. What he did not highlight is that the process for a number of those agreements began during a Liberal administration. It was Liberals that started them. What they failed to realize is yes, there is a difference in attitude in regard to—

[Dan Harris, NDP, Scarborough Southwest, ON]

You guys failed and the Conservatives felt the impact.

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

I see there is a member standing on a point of order. Normally we do not recognize members on points of order unless, of course, they bring that point of order from the seat they normally occupy in the House.

The hon. member for Winnipeg North.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the trade file is interesting, and I will give a good example of that.

Prime Minister Jean Chrétien decided that he would go to China to increase trade. What did he do? He brought stakeholders, including provincial government representatives, and I believe there were even premiers; all sorts of business executives; and labour organizations. There was a good cross-section of Canadians who went to China. I believe he even went to other Asian countries, but I am not 100% sure of that. At the end of the day, we saw hundreds of millions of dollars in trade going back and forth as a direct result of that trip.

How does that compare to the current Prime Minister? First of all, it took the Conservatives quite a while to wake up to the reality that China is a significant country and has a lot to offer in terms of potential trade in the future. However, I believe that in 2009, possibly 2010, the Prime Minister went to China. What did he deliver? Well, I believe he came back with two panda bears, and he thought that was a great achievement. However, when I was part of the Manitoba legislature, the premier was able to get two panda bears.

It is all about way that one approaches trade. The government members stand in their place and say they have done well because they have another trade agreement. They say they have 30-plus trade agreements. Some may applaud, and yes it is good to see trade agreements. However, I think Canadians are concerned not just with having trade agreements, but with our addressing the whole trade file as well.

We must recognize that there are other countries in the world that we need to do a little more work on. I say this because the Conservatives have dropped the ball, turning a huge trade surplus into a huge trade deficit.

Let us talk about how the government manages to mess up trade. It is all about the current Prime Minister and the Conservative government's poor performance. It is about what is happening on the Prairies today. We have megapiles of grain throughout the Prairies. There is so much grain, it is not only in the bins but it also stored outside the bins in plastic. We have known about this for months. It is not something new. The government would have been aware of this back in September or October.

We have all of this grain in the Prairies, but then we look to the Pacific Ocean and we have empty ships there. There is a disconnect: that grain should be in the ships. As a direct result of this, Canada is losing millions of dollars worth of contracts because the Conservative government did not do its job.

[Gary Schellenberger, Conservative, Perth—Wellington, ON]

Build a pipeline.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I do not know if we can get grain down a pipeline. However, we are talking about prairie grain farmers right now, and the government has dropped the ball.

We have people in the Prairies saying that the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food is one of the worst ministers ever.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

The truth hurts, Mr. Speaker.

We finally got the Minister of Transport to stand up today after a while.

Why does the government not amend Transport Canada legislation to protect our farmers and give them a service guarantee? This is something that the government can do. The Liberal Party has indicated that the potential amendments are already there. We know what they are. The government could act on these today. It is amazing, but with the co-operation of all political parties we could pass legislation awfully quickly.

The government needs to send a message to the prairie farmers that we care. However, the Conservatives have not been able to do that.

Therefore, when we talk about trade, we must think about the bigger picture of trade and what we need to do not only maintain it but also to improve and grow the markets and take responsibility for that.

The government has not been responsible on this file, overall. The government needs to be accountable for the bottom line figure.

Unlike the NDP, we understand the benefits of trade. We understand the concerns with regard to environmental issues and social issues. We are just as sensitive to those issues as any other political party inside the chamber, but that does not mean that we cannot continue to move forward.

The NDP critic asked about what was happening in Ukraine. He is referring to the fact that under the old Ukraine regime, there could be no trade agreement. Regimes come and go, but trade will continue on. We would like to think that we could have an impact. NDP logic would have trade banned with countries they do not deem worthy enough to trade with Canada. That would mean cancelling a lot of today's imports and exports.

We can do better. We want to see trade agreements that would benefit Canadians, first and foremost. As well, we want to see trade agreements that would improve the conditions in other countries around the world. Canada can benefit, if the government manages the file. One example is Honduras.

Pork is an important industry to the province of Manitoba. Manitoba has more pigs than it has people. We cannot consume all the pork, so we need export markets, and Honduras is one of those export markets. With this particular agreement, Manitoba would be able to export more pork to Honduras and thereby benefit. I have been out to the hog farms and to the Burns slaughter plant in Brandon. A lot of jobs have been created as a direct result of the pork industry in Manitoba. Our province has seen the economic benefit of that industry. Not only here in Canada but also around the world, consumers eat first-class, quality food because of this important industry in Manitoba.

I recognize the value of free trade agreements when both nations can benefit.

Last week in question period, I asked what the government is doing with respect to concerns relating to the pork industry and some of the feed being called into question in certain regions. To what degree is the government coming to the table to protect the integrity of that industry? Once again, the government is lacking.

The government needs to take a more aggressive approach in addressing the needs of our communities. It needs to come to the table and help resolve problems where it can. Pork farmers not only in Manitoba but also in Quebec and other places are concerned about the integrity of the industry because of the feed that is being brought in. They want the government to take some action on that important file. We all have a vested interest in that file, especially when we are talking about the Honduras trade agreement before us today. It is very important.

Honduras has a population of roughly 8 million people. Some of its most notable exports are the production of minerals, coffee, tropical fruit, sugar cane and, recently, clothing to the international market. Its clothing industry is growing quite significantly.

Honduras is in a critical area of the world. It was back in 2001 when the negotiations really started about recognizing the need to have and work toward trade agreements with countries such as Honduras, which we are debating today, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua. There is a need for Canada to do what it can in reaching out and improving the economic conditions of other countries. Canadians as a whole want us to do that.

We do not need to live in fear of free trade agreements. There will always be some shortcomings, and we need to be aware of them. I want to see our Canadian workforce on an equal playing field with other countries we compete with. It is frustrating to me and to many within the Liberal Party when we see distinct subsidies that would assist one country and potentially harm industries within our own country.

No one has complete ownership of that issue. We are all concerned. We all want to save the jobs we have. I, for one, understand and appreciate many of the different industries in my home province and I want them to grow. I referred to the pork industry. We have other industries that I take a great deal of pride in. The aerospace industry is one of them.

One industry where there is great potential for growth is tourism. It would be wonderful to see more people from Honduras coming to Canada, and Canadians ultimately visiting Honduras. We are seeing an overall increase in world travel. The spinoff benefits are phenomenal. We are talking about hundreds of thousands of jobs worldwide, and tens of thousands of them here.

I see that my time has virtually expired. As members can tell, we support, in principle, the passage of this particular bill. The Liberal Party does not fear free trade. It sees trade as very beneficial. If we recognize that Canada is so dependent on international trade, I suspect that there might be more support from all sides of the House. Canada needs trade, and we should be looking at countries where there is great potential.

I conclude on a very personal note. One country that I feel very passionate about is the Philippines. It is one of our greatest sources of immigration today. I would argue that we need to get beyond immigration and start looking at trade and what more we could do in trade and tourism.

There are many great countries around the world and we need to tap into them. If we do it right, Canadians and the middle class will benefit, because it will generate tens of thousands of jobs, and improve the quality of life not only for Canadians but also for people around the world.