Mr. Chair, I have some concerns about the amendment. I have a question for the mover and also a question for the witnesses.
The difficulty with this amendment and the previous rejection of stronger measures to monitor labour and the environment is a huge disappointment in terms of where we're at on this legislation.
From a business perspective, trade agreements assure businesses that they can get into a relationship in a foreign country, which is sometimes very difficult to do, and make the investment and so on. The trade agreement is there basically to give your business some protection in doing business over the long term.
I would ask the mover of the amendment how he would respond to that. It could jeopardize the ability of business, because the certainty isn't there to make investments.
I also have a question for the witnesses. What provisions are in this agreement, or indeed, in the legislation, that would allow Canada to withdraw from the agreement? And what would be the cost to Canada of doing so?