Mr. Speaker, I listened attentively to the minister. It is quite interesting that he did not actually refer to any of the specifics of the EFTA agreement, which I think is curious given that he is supposed to be promoting this agreement. I want to read into the record some of the comments that have been made around the specifics of EFTA. We have Mr. Andrew McArthur, from the Shipbuilding Association of Canada, who said in testimony to the standing committee:
From day one, we said the Norwegian industry has been totally supported by its government to build up a tremendous infrastructure. It is a good industry with a lot of government help, and now they're looking to see what else they can do. So our position from day one has been that shipbuilding should be carved out from the trade agreement.
That did not happen. We have Karl Risser, representing marine workers, who said: “What we have seen is the EFTA agreement, which we feel will further devastate the shipbuilding industry”. He goes on to say: “So this EFTA deal is a bad deal for Canada”.
We have George MacPherson, representing western marine workers and shipyard general workers, who said:
Canadian demand for ships over the next 15 years is estimated to be worth $9 billion in Canadian jobs. Under the FTAs with Norway, Iceland, and now planned with Korea and then Japan, these Canadian shipbuilding jobs are in serious jeopardy. In these terms, this government's plan is sheer folly and an outrage.
We have very clear comments on the specifics of the EFTA agreement. Is this just another softwood sellout? But this time the government is selling out the shipbuilding—