Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I just have a couple of additional points. I can speak from my own perspective. I bring a perspective, in my new critic's role, of being very supportive of trade. I want to find a way to support this particular trade deal because I think there are some commendable things in it. The structure of this deal does follow quite a similar template to others that we have opposed in the past, but I think there are some improvements. There's no intellectual property in this. There are no investor-state provisions in this.
I think we have heard some mixed testimony about progress on labour rights in Jordan. We heard some pretty disturbing testimony from some of the witnesses, which I don't need to belabour here, that obviously shows there's work to be done in Jordan. But we also heard that there have been a number of minimum wage increases in Jordan, including two that have happened, and one that's slated for next year.
Really, in a good faith attempt to have our Parliament work towards getting a trade template for our country that we can all get behind, I'm prepared to approach this with an open mind and say that maybe the government is right. Maybe the government is right that by engaging in trade agreements that deal with labour and human rights, and with the kinds of monitoring and penalty provisions and ministerial consultation processes involved, which do add some teeth to these, labour rights are improved. Maybe it is effective.
This amendment does no more than ask all of us to put our money where our mouths are and actually collect the data that would support what we claim to be are the motives.
I also just want to say two quick things. One is that I think it's really important that these reports be prepared with the input of independent experts, to guard against the politicization of this. I think we're all interested in having as accurate a snapshot as possible of what actually are the results of our trade deals. I have no problem in saying that if this amendment is accepted, along with the sunset clause amendment, it would give some teeth to this deal, and the official opposition would support this deal as it's structured.