Foreign Investment  On the other side of the House, the NDP has a radical and irresponsible anti-investment and anti-trade agenda. Each transaction that is proposed in Canada is assessed on its merit based on what will bring the greatest benefit to Canadians and what will be in their best interests. This is the approach that we are going to continue to take.

Ethics  Again, I will point out that the project has a lot of benefits for the Atlantic region. I hope that the Liberal Party is not beginning to take on the anti-development, anti-trade, anti-energy policies that we see so often in the NDP.

International Trade  Canada's trade deficit narrowed last month and in fact it halved in each of the last two months. The irony is that if the NDP's reckless and irresponsible anti-trade policies were imposed on Canadians, Canada's trade would be zero. Ever since the NAFTA, the NDP has consistently opposed efforts to increase trade. NDP members have called for protectionism at every turn.

International Trade  I listened closely to the hon. member's language, and really what we are talking about is the fact that the anti-trade party, or the no-trade party, is not at the table. If the New Democrats were at the table, we would not have this discussion because there would not be any negotiations. The reality is that this goes way back to the days when the NDP vehemently opposed NAFTA.

International Trade  Once again we see the government pushing forward in a reckless manner, selling out Canadian interests and decrying any opposition to its agenda as anti-trade. On this side of the House we are pro-trade and we await the final draft of the CETA to weigh it in its entirety and see if it is of net benefit to Canada. However, every time we see a leaked draft or document, we see a government that is not putting Canada's interests first.

International Trade  A trade agreement is expected to increase bilateral trade between Canada and the EU by 20%, which is the equivalent of adding 80,000 new Canadian jobs to our workforce. Why is it that the NDP will not support us in doing that? The truth is that the NDP is anti-trade and anti-investment. Only this government stands up for hard-working Canadians.

Foreign Investment  However, if we were to follow the NDP policy, everything would be lost from the outset, with a $21.5 billion carbon tax and an anti-trade and high-tax agenda. We will not go there.

Foreign Investment  Speaker, it is unbelievable that the opposition is trying to politicize the reviews and the process so that it can impose its radical, anti-trade program, which would make foreign investors flee, whereas foreign investment can make our businesses part of the global value chain and create employment. Under our economic action plan, 820,000 net new jobs have been created in Canada.

Foreign Investment  Speaker, what is not credible is the opposition trying to politicize these reviews. With those members' anti-trade, job-killing agenda, this is what we will not do. What we will do is to evaluate whether these transactions are likely to provide a net benefit for Canada, always in the best interests of Canadians.

International Trade  It is as simple as this: We are a trading nation and we are going to remain a trading nation. Again, I call on the NDP to get away from their anti-trade stance and take a pro-trade stance.

International Trade  The NDP's vote against our agreement with Panama was predictable. This is the same party that sent an anti-trade mission to Washington to lobby against Canadian jobs. It is the same party that has consistently opposed our government's initiatives to increase trade and promote Canadian exports.

Canada-Panama Economic Growth and Prosperity Act  I am not surprised by the rhetoric coming from the NDP members. They have been consistently anti-trade since the days of NAFTA. Now they are committed to voting against yet another free trade deal. Obviously, a leopard does not change its spots. I would like to speak to the benefits of this free trade agreement for Canadian investors.

Canada-Panama Economic Growth and Prosperity Act  However, the member mentions the opposition's position on this trade deal, as on so many others. What would the opposition's anti-trade agenda mean for Canada if any government were foolish enough to implement even some of these aspects? It is against trade agreements with the nine countries with which we have negotiated, and with the scores of countries we would like to negotiate with.

Canada-Panama Economic Growth and Prosperity Act  Speaker, not only would their carbon tax be an absolute blowout, estimated at $21 billion, but with their anti-trade thing, now we are getting into serious money. If we got rid of NAFTA and all trade agreements, not only would it be an unbelievable black eye and message to the international community that our agricultural products are not the best in the world, which they are—the safest in the world and coveted by most of the world, along with our energy supply and on and on—but the amount of dollars that would be compromised would actually cripple this country.

Canada-Panama Economic Growth and Prosperity Act  As some members may recall, the same anti-free trade rhetoric we are hearing today was also being used 25 years ago against the Canada-U.S. free trade deal. Some members may recall that the anti-trade critics in those days ran commercials illustrating the border between Canada and the United States being somehow erased. Claims were made that tens of thousands of Canadian jobs would soon disappear and that Canadian sovereignty itself would be compromised.