Mr. Chair, it's somewhat similar to the motion that was defeated but a little more inclusive, and I very much support it.
I actually can't imagine how government members could vote against this particular amendment, given the evidence that we've heard. It's simple. The Government of Canada has negotiated an agreement. We're not in any way changing that agreement by the addition of these paragraphs from the amendment. But what we are saying, as a committee and as a Parliament, if it passes Parliament, is that given the evidence we have heard, including the contradictory evidence from the ambassador of Jordan versus what people on the ground working in Jordan have said, Parliament itself has concerns about both the environment and the labour issues in Jordan. So we are inserting into the legislation a process where evidence-based monitoring can be done.
That's to the government's advantage, Mr. Chair. I just cannot understand how members would vote against this. This actually would help the government in doing what it claims it wants to do, which is to ensure that environmental protection is there and ensure that labour rights are in fact protected, as I said earlier.
As witnesses before this committee have told us, in all of our trade agreements capital is protected to the nth degree. The environment and labour are always in side agreements, and so are not subject to the enforceability or the immediate action that can be taken, as it is, in protecting capital.
So this just makes absolute sense.
I have a last point that I would make. I'm sure the government members are getting calls—we certainly are in the opposition parties—from environmental groups and labour groups that are concerned that we would go into this agreement knowing the conditions that exist on both. This, I think, would give them certainty that the government means what it says on moving forward on the environment and labour.
So I just encourage government members to stand up for what we heard in evidence and put some pressure, through this trade agreement, on areas that we're concerned about relative to the trade agreement and what's happening on the ground in Jordan.