International Trade committee  I'm sorry; could you repeat that?

International Trade committee  The channels for the resolution of these disputes have generally been limited, and communities have seen a necessity to protest massively in order to reach a resolution to these disputes. In the case, first, of Law 30, it was not passed, as a result of massive protests throughout the country at that time in 2010.

International Trade committee  Thank you very much for the opportunity to present to the committee today. My comments are going to focus on the investment aspects of the free trade agreement in relation to the Canadian mining industry and related services in Panama. In short, MiningWatch's concerns haven't changed much since we last contributed to these hearings in November 2010, but they have grown more acute as a result of developments over the last 22 months, since the committee last met to discuss implementation of the agreement.

International Trade committee  I certainly can't comment on the Colombian flower industry, and I kept my comments focused on Canadian investment in the mining sector. Certainly I do think the report that was tabled in May was a bit of a “see no evil, hear no evil, say no evil” type of report. Clearly my comments are based on the complaints and the evidence we've been gathering over the last number of years.

International Trade committee  I think it's an unacceptable excuse. The negotiation and ratification of the Colombia free trade agreement took a considerable period of time because of the tremendous controversy over the serious human rights crisis in Colombia. There was a lot of serious deliberation that led to the legal agreement, the act that was created, which our government signed two years ago, to agree to produce this report on an annual basis.

International Trade committee  No.

International Trade committee  Our perspective is that this agreement has strengthened the current legislative framework for Canadian investors in Colombia, particularly speaking about the mining sector, and that civil society in Colombia, together with organizations here in Canada, are identifying serious risks to indigenous and Afro-Colombian lands and to vital sources of water.

International Trade committee  Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and committee members. Thank you for the opportunity to present to you this afternoon. I will do my best to keep my remarks short. I do hope that Juan Diego has a chance in the questions and answers to continue his recommendations to the committee. The implementation of the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement comes at a time when human rights violations in Colombia remain at crisis levels on a global scale, as well as when Colombians are fighting hard to improve protections for their collective rights in the face of a booming mining sector, which is a key area for Canadian investment in Colombia and the focus of my comments today.