Finance committee  The $500 million allocated in the last budget towards a child care program was a first step in what really needs to be a broader federal policy framework for working with the provinces and territories and indigenous peoples. We have lots of research over many years of child care advocacy that shows how expensive child care has become.

Finance committee  That's been a huge question for the provincial government as well, particularly now in times of fiscal restraint, when we've been arguing that you need to increase immigration levels and you need to allow the people who come here to stay here—not the temporary foreign worker model, but opening the doors to allow more immigrants and to have strong provincial growth strategies as well, working hand in hand with the federal government.

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair and committee, for allowing us to have our voice and come here to Nova Scotia. That's very important for us. We're happy to be here because consultation is very important to the 65,000 members—working men and women in every sector of our economy and every community in our province—who are represented under the umbrella of the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour.

International Trade committee  I have to go where Ms. Reid went on the argument. Obviously, there is an issue if trade agreements stopped altogether. Our issue and our objections to the trade agreements aren't that they're trade agreements; it's the other conditions that are put in. I guess we'd be left to have to try to negotiate a trade agreement with—

International Trade committee  For the auto industry, it would be bad.

International Trade committee  In our recent budget, the government predicted, just based on its own budgetary decisions, that the unemployment rate in this province is going to rise to almost 20% within the next five years, that the labour market is going to be reduced to the same numbers that it was in the year 2000, and that economic growth will slow down, obviously, because of that.

International Trade committee  What did you say the percentage increase was?

International Trade committee  Well, all the research that we've been using to study TPP points to exactly the opposite. Even Joseph Stiglitz talked about wage inequality. Tufts and the research done by unions like Unifor, by Jim Stanford on the auto manufacturing, have shown the exact opposite, to the point of 58,000 jobs.

International Trade committee  Absolutely. The TPP represents an unprecedented erosion of the ability of all Canadians to ensure that they will be guaranteed access to a decent standard of living and that Canadian legislation protect the right to that standard of living. The entire structure of this deal is drafted so heavily in favour of multinational corporations and at the expense of working-class Canadians that it simply cannot be improved or fixed with minor changes.

International Trade committee  Thank you and good morning. Good morning, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. Welcome to our beautiful province of Newfoundland and Labrador. On behalf of the 65,000 working women and men and the affiliates that make up our federation, we'd like to thank the committee for the opportunity to express the important views of working people on the impact of a ratified TPP, not only on Newfoundland and Labrador but all across Canada.