Mr. Speaker, this morning I have the pleasure to table petitions signed by people from Burnaby, other parts of British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Ontario who are concerned about the Canada-Colombia free trade agreement.
They note in particular their concern about violence against workers and members of civil society by paramilitaries in Colombia, pointing out that more than 2,200 trade unionists have been murdered since 1991 as well as violence committed against indigenous people, Afro-Colombians, human rights activists, workers, farmers, labour leaders and journalists.
They call on the Government of Canada to do a full human rights impact assessment while the agreement is being negotiated to ensure that the principles of fair trade would be taken into account with full environmental, social and human impact studies, so that the agreement sincerely respects labour rights and the rights of all parties affected.