Bill C-57 (Historical)

Canada-Jordan Free Trade Act

An Act to implement the Free Trade Agreement between Canada and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Agreement on the Environment between Canada and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Agreement on Labour Cooperation between Canada and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

This enactment implements the Free Trade Agreement and the related agreements on the environment and labour cooperation entered into between Canada and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and signed at Amman on June 28, 2009.
The general provisions of the enactment specify that no recourse may be taken on the basis of the provisions of Part 1 of the enactment or any order made under that Part, or the provisions of the Free Trade Agreement or the related agreements themselves, without the consent of the Attorney General of Canada.
Part 1 of the enactment approves the Free Trade Agreement and the related agreements and provides for the payment by Canada of its share of the expenditures associated with the operation of the institutional aspects of the Free Trade Agreement and the power of the Governor in Council to make orders for carrying out the provisions of the enactment.
Part 2 of the enactment amends existing laws in order to bring them into conformity with Canada’s obligations under the Free Trade Agreement and the related agreement on labour cooperation.

Canada-Jordan Free Trade Act

[Gordon O'Connor, Conservative, Carleton—Mississippi Mills, ON]

moved that Bill C-57, An Act to implement the Free Trade Agreement between Canada and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Agreement on the Environment between Canada and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Agreement on Labour Cooperation between Canada and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, be read the second time and referred to a committee.

[Gerald Keddy, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade]

Madam Speaker, it is certainly an honour to rise in this chamber to speak to the second reading of Bill C-57, the free trade agreement between Canada and Jordan.

I need to preface my speech with some very frank comments. Unfortunately, free trade discussions and free trade agreements have very much been hijacked by the chamber, and I would ask all hon. members in this place to look at the merit of this agreement for what the agreement is. We continue to hear discussions about how there is no such thing as fair trade, how there is no fair trade agreement anywhere in the world, how there has never been one signed, and how they sound good on paper but they do not exist in reality.

We sign comprehensive trading agreements and we sign free trade agreements. I would ask all hon. members to also consider another point, that we are signing these agreements with countries that we are already trading with. This is not brand new. I have listened to a lot of discussion about our free trade agreement with Colombia, and the opposition members talk as if we are not trading with Colombia already, but the reality is that we are and that our industries are working at a competitive disadvantage against other nations in the world that have already signed free trade agreements with Colombia. Nations around the world like Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein have embraced free trade as a methodology for rules-based trading that helps Canadian workers and helps Canadian consumers.

This agreement with Jordan will directly benefit a number of sectors of the Canadian economy at precisely the time when Canadians need competitive access to global markets. In these challenging economic times, we need to do everything we can to help Canadians and Canadian businesses build links to the global economy. Protectionism is not the answer; partnerships are. From the very start of the global economic downturn, the Prime Minister has been very clear that opening doors to trade and investment is the right approach to create opportunities for Canadians in key global markets such as India, which the Prime Minister is visiting right now, and China, where the Prime Minister will travel in a few short weeks, and Jordan.

Over the years, Canada and Jordan have built a strong mutually beneficial relationship. It is a relationship grounded in common aspirations such as peace, stability and prosperity for our citizens. As the Minister of International Trade saw earlier this year, it is a relationship with deep commercial roots as well. Many Canadian companies already have a solid presence in the Jordanian marketplace. The Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan, for instance, is one of Jordan's top foreign investors. It is joined by companies like Research In Motion, Bombardier, SNC-Lavalin, Four Seasons Hotels, Second Cup coffee shops and many others which are also active in Jordan.

Our two-way trade is very diverse, covering everything from forestry to agriculture, from food to machinery, as well as communications, technologies and apparel. Canada's expertise in nuclear power is another sector of great interest to Jordan, especially as it embarks on a nuclear energy program to meet its energy needs in the years ahead. Canada's nuclear industry has a lot to offer the government and the private sector in Jordan, especially following the signing of our bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement earlier this year. It is yet another example of how sophisticated our relationship is becoming on several fronts.

In 2008, our two-way merchandise trade reached over $90 million. Canada is the supplier to Jordan of a range of goods including paper, copper, vegetables, machinery and wood. In fact Canadian exporters enjoyed a 21% rise in exports over the previous year, making Jordan a growing market in the Middle East for Canada.

At a time of global recession, when export markets are dropping and decreasing around the world, we have seen an increase in our market with Jordan. This growing trade relationship is one reason our businesses are supportive of closer ties with the Jordanian marketplace.

Our leaders see potential as well. In 2007, the Prime Minister joined His Majesty King Abdullah II in a commitment to take our commercial relationship to the next level. Formal FTA negotiations launched in February of 2008 were concluded after three rounds. In June of this year, Canada and Jordan signed not only a free trade agreement but also agreements on labour cooperation and the environment, and a foreign investment promotion and protection agreement.

These are all important components in our evolving commercial relationship, but the free trade agreement is the centrepiece, the one that will benefit Canadians and Jordanians alike. It will give Canadian and Jordanian exporters unprecedented access to our respective markets, eliminating tariffs on a number of key products. World-leading Canadian sectors such as forestry, manufacturing and agriculture and agri-food will benefit.

Our beef producers too stand to benefit from the agreement. Not only did Jordan fully reopen its market to Canadian beef and cattle in February, but through this FTA, Canadian beef producers will enjoy competitive advantages in a market that the Canada Beef Export Federation estimates to be worth approximately $1 million per Canadian exporter.

In addition to providing these great benefits, this agreement also sharpens our competitive edge. After all, Jordan has free trade agreements with some of our key competitors such as the United States and the European Union. This FTA will help ensure a level playing field for Canadians in the Jordanian market. In fact 67% of Jordan's tariff lines, covering over 99% of Canadian exports, will be eliminated when the agreement is first implemented, and the remaining tariff reductions will take place within three to five years.

An FTA with Jordan also demonstrates Canada's support for an Arab state that supports peace and security in the Middle East, but as I have said before, the FTA was just one agreement we signed with Jordan this year. We also signed parallel labour cooperation and environmental agreements that will help ensure progress on labour rights and environmental protection. Our government firmly believes that increased commerce can play a positive role in society, and these agreements prove our commitment.

We also signed a bilateral foreign investment protection and promotion agreement, or FIPA, that establishes clear rules for investment between our countries. It provides Canadian and Jordanian investors alike with the predictability and certainty they need when investing in each other's markets.

Canadian investors are particularly excited about opportunities in Jordan's resource extraction, nuclear energy, telecommunications, transportation and infrastructure sectors, and Jordan has been very receptive to Canada's many investment advantages, such as our sound, stable economy; our globally recognized banking system; our competitive business taxes; our ongoing investments in infrastructure, science and education; our unmatched position in the North American market; and the skills, ingenuity and innovation of the Canadian people.

This agreement will help us promote investment between our nations and create new opportunities for our citizens. Canada believes that our ability to weather the current economic storm depends in great part on the global partnerships we pursue. That is why this Conservative government is moving so aggressively on trade negotiations with our global partners.

On July 1, we celebrated the official entry into force of Canada's first free trade agreement since 2002, with the European Free Trade Association's states of Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. On August 1, we were celebrating again with the entry into force of the Canada-Peru FTA.

The Prime Minister was in Panama City on August 11, along with Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli, to mark the conclusion of the Canada-Panama free trade negotiations, and of course, the legislation to implement the Canada-Colombia free trade agreement is currently before Parliament.

There is much more to come.

On October 23, Canada and the European Union concluded a successful first round of negotiations towards a comprehensive economic and trade agreement. The Canadian and EU chief negotiators commended the efforts made by both sides to identify common ground and their readiness to reconcile differences.

Free trade talks are also under way with other countries in the Americas, including the Caribbean community.

We have also announced exploratory talks with India, Morocco and Ukraine, three more exciting opportunities to link Canadians to opportunities in these important markets.

The agreements we have signed with Jordan are an important part of these efforts. They speak directly to our government's ongoing commitment to open more doors and create more jobs for Canadians in these tough economic times.

I would ask that all hon. members fully support these efforts and, specifically, the Canada-Jordan free trade agreement and related agreements that I have outlined today.

Just to wrap up, I would ask very clearly and openly for the support of the opposition parties. This is a minority Parliament. There is no way the government alone can pass these bills through the House. These are good bills. They offer tremendous opportunity, not just for Canadian companies, but for Canadian workers and in turn for Canadian consumers. So I would certainly call upon all of the opposition parties, especially the official opposition which has been a free trader in the past, to look at the opportunities here, to assess them and to support them.

[Scott Brison, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Madam Speaker, Canada has a small, open economy. We depend on external trade for our prosperity and for our jobs.

That is why it is ominous that under the current Conservative government we have the first trade deficit that we have had in 30 years. To put that in plainer terms, we are buying more as a country than we are selling. That is a very bad sign for Canadians, because we do not have the robust domestic market that, for instance, the Americans have.

This has been caused by the failure of the Conservatives to defend our interests with our largest trading partner, the United States, and the failure of the Conservatives to diversify Canada's trade relations, particularly their failure to engage India and to engage China. The Prime Minister went to India this week, finally, after four years of neglecting India. In December the Prime Minister is planning to go to China, after four years of showing contempt for China. It is not good enough to show contempt for the world's fastest growing economy at a time when Canadians need jobs and opportunities, and then after four years of contempt, go on a mea culpa tour.

Specific to the Canada-Jordan FTA, we believe that there are tremendous opportunities for Canada and Jordan in this agreement. In fact, the member for Toronto Centre, as premier of Ontario, initiated discussions with Jordan on deepening trade relations between Canada's largest province and Jordan many years ago.

We need to focus on deepening our relationship with Jordan. At the same time, it is important to recognize that Jordan is a country of five million people. It is the 85th most important destination for Canadian exports. Its economy is ranked 95th in the world by GDP.

Contrast that with China. China is expected to grow by 8.7% in 2010 and about 8.4% in 2011. India is expected to grow by 6.5% in 2010 and 7.8% in 2011. At the same time, Jordan is expected to grow by 3% next year and 3.7% in 2011.

It is a good idea to diversify our trade relations, particularly when we face such protectionism in the U.S., our biggest market, particularly during a time when the U.S. economy has been hit the hardest.

At the same time, we cannot understand why the Conservative government has taken such an ideological position relative to China. It is almost as if the Prime Minister has been fighting the cold war that ended a long time ago with China at a time when other countries are engaging China to build relations and to deepen trade opportunities.

This year Canadian exports to the U.S. have plummeted by 30%. We have seen rising protectionism from the Americans. We have seen a protectionist sentiment at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue.

Whether it is the western hemisphere travel initiative, the new passport requirement that came into effect in June that has reduced cross-border same-day travel by 29%, which has had a devastating impact on border cities and communities, or the country of origin labelling that is hurting Canada's livestock industry, and more recently and perhaps most important, the buy American provisions, in every single case, the Conservative government has failed to effectively engage the Obama administration and Congress to defend Canadian interests. The fact is that over their first three years in government, the Conservatives focused so much on the Bush Republicans that they completely ignored the Democrats. Now with the Democrats in charge at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue, Canada is at a disadvantage.

We are too dependent on the U.S. market, and the Conservatives have failed to defend Canada's interests in that big and important market. At the same time, we have to diversify and deepen our trade relations with countries like China and India.

Perhaps the greatest advantage and opportunity we have as a country is our head start in clean conventional energy technology. In fact, it was a Liberal government that initially invested massively in CO₂ sequestration research and development in places like Weyburn, Saskatchewan. Those investments led to Canada having an advantage in clean conventional energy. In fact, Canada has the best technology in the world in carbon sequestration technology.

This summer, China signed a memorandum of understanding with the Obama administration to cooperate on the research and development of CO₂ sequestration technology. The question we have to ask ourselves is: Why did China go to the U.S. for CO₂ sequestration technology when in fact Canada has the best CO₂ sequestration technology?

There are only two answers that make any sense. It is one of two things. Either the Conservative government's contempt for China over the last four years has damaged the relationship to such a point that China does not want to come to Canada for anything, or perhaps it is that the Conservatives have refused to promote Canada's clean energy solutions to the world. Either way it is damning because the Conservatives do not recognize the important comparative advantage Canada has in the research and development and export of clean energy technologies and solutions.

Perhaps the fastest growing area of the 21st century economy is going to be in clean energy and clean energy solutions. It is an area where Canada has a natural advantage as a traditional conventional energy producer. It is an area wherein the previous Liberal government invested to develop a global advantage in the area of clean conventional energy. It is an advantage that the Conservatives are frittering away in their ideological fight with China, their naive treatment of the fastest growing economies in the world, and their absolute incompetence in managing trade relations with those important economies that provide Canadians with the opportunities and the jobs of the future.

We do believe that there are opportunities for Canada in Jordan and there are opportunities for Jordan in Canada. The opportunities for us to trade and deepen the relationship is welcome, but we have real challenges with the fact that the Conservatives have so neglected the greatest opportunities.

In 1993 Prime Minister Chrétien went to China with the Team Canada mission. He took 300 senior executives of Canadian companies and all Canadian premiers, except Lucien Bouchard, with him. They signed billions of dollars' worth of agreements with China at that time, deepening the relationship, creating jobs for Canadians.

Mr. Chrétien at that time also led trade missions to India. Again he took with him hundreds of Canadian business people and the Canadian premiers. He engaged Indian government leaders and business leaders in business, not in photo ops.

This week the Prime Minister has gone to India. In his mea culpa tour to India and China, he has a handful of Canadian business people in India, but not enough to sign the kinds of deals that were signed when Mr. Chrétien was prime minister. That is because of the fact that the Conservative Prime Minister is more interested in photo ops and his mea culpa tour than he is in developing real business opportunities and jobs for Canadians.

The Prime Minister does not recognize Canada's multicultural policy not just as a successful social policy but as an economic advantage. The Liberal Party developed the multicultural policy and believes it is not only a social advantage but an economic advantage. We should be engaging our multicultural entrepreneurs to build natural bridges to the fastest growing economies in the world, economies like India and China.

Next month when the Prime Minister goes to China, he will have a lot of explaining to do. The Prime Minister has spent four years treating China with contempt. He failed to go to the opening of the Beijing Olympics. When I was in China in September, there were meetings with Canadian business people doing business in China, meetings with Chinese officials, and in every meeting the no-show of the Conservative Prime Minister at the opening of the Beijing Olympics was raised. It is a real issue. This is not a construct. It has cost Canadian business; it has cost Canadian deals. It has shown a Prime Minister who does not understand the importance of relationships in China.

The fact is that the Conservative government and members of the Conservative Party have attacked the Liberal leader for being too worldly when they should in fact be apologizing for their leader not being worldly enough. We have a Prime Minister of Canada today who does not understand the opportunities presented to Canada by the world. Canada, the most multicultural and diverse country anywhere in the world, has tremendous opportunities as we see the emergence of economies like China and India. He is a Prime Minister who does not understand Canada's responsibility to the world, to develop and promote the clean energy solutions that the world needs.

The Prime Minister, when it came to trade relations with places like India, started on third base. Four years later, he hit a single and he thinks he is hitting a home run. The fact is he has hurt our relations with China. He has damaged our relationship with India. Four years later, he is indulging himself in a photo op tour which, at best, can repair some of the damage that his rigid ideological perspective has created for Canadian companies, business leaders and workers in those important economies.

We in the Liberal Party believe there are opportunities in a Canada-Jordan trade agreement but we also believe that the Conservative management of Canada's historically important relations with places like China and India have been an abject failure. The Conservatives' treatment of those relationships has hurt Canadian competitiveness, has damaged our capacity to protect the jobs of today and has hurt the capacity for us to create the jobs of tomorrow.

[Peter Julian, NDP, Burnaby—New Westminster, BC]

Madam Speaker, I listened with interest to the member for Kings—Hants. I always listen to him with interest. Sometimes I agree and sometimes I profoundly disagree. I listened very attentively.

The reality is that Jordan is not Colombia and we have to look at the Jordan issue of this trade agreement on its own merits. Of course, there are concerns around human rights in Jordan, concerns around some of the actions of the Jordanian government and concerns around the rights particularly of women migrant workers who come to Jordan.

When this bill goes to committee, which I assume at some point it may, much before any other of the trade bills before the House, would the member not agree that there needs to be effective hearings? Would he agree that the committee needs to hear from women's organizations, human rights organizations, environmental organizations, labour organizations, as well as the business community, so that the committee can ascertain the real impact of this trade agreement?

[Scott Brison, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Madam Speaker, of course the Liberal Party is concerned about issues of rights. The Liberal Party has always been engaged in the defence of human rights. In fact, we believe trade, free trade and human rights go hand in hand because effective economic engagement actually strengthens the capacity to engage on rights. Pierre Trudeau was no slouch when it came to the defence of human rights. At the same time, he saw the wisdom of engaging China. He was the first Western leader to establish diplomatic relations with post-revolution China.

The disconnect we have with the NDP is that it somehow sees legitimate economic trade as being the enemy of human rights. In fact, the best thing we can do for a country that is developing its economy is to engage it economically. Then we can have an influence on them on human rights.

The Conservatives' isolationist approach to China has created a situation where we have less influence on human rights in China today than we did four years ago under a Liberal government. The fact is more economic engagement can strengthen the capacity to engage on human rights. I just wish the NDP members would be more open to the proven fact that free trade and a rules-based system can strengthen our engagement with these countries on human rights. I wish they would not be so ideologically rigid.

[Serge Cardin, Bloc, Sherbrooke, QC]

Madam Speaker, I would like to ask the member for Kings—Hants what he thinks about the fact that today, the Conservative government put forward a free trade agreement with Jordan.

It is a small country. In general, we are in favour of trade. Not to judge the country, but given the current situation, we have to wonder whether the government will be able to structure international trade, set policies and apply them properly. The government reminds us of a child in kindergarten. The Conservatives are in their first year of international trade kindergarten, and they have been held back three times already. They seem to understand nothing about international trade. They are cutting their teeth on small countries, while major markets are opening up, which we could be investing much more energy in.

I would like to know what the member thinks about the Conservative government and the development of its international trade policy. Ideally, we should not be signing bilateral agreements; we should be focusing primarily on multilateral agreements, ensuring that the rules of the game are the same for everyone. But what is happening is that we are signing a pile of bilateral agreements with some somewhat distorted rules.

I would like to hear what my colleague thinks.

[Scott Brison, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his question.

It is clear that the Conservatives do not understand and do not support a multilateral approach. It is also clear that we must diversify our international trade relations.

I do not understand why the Conservatives always concentrate on the small markets and completely ignore the big markets like China and India. I agree with the member; multilateralism is very important for Canada. The Conservatives do not understand this system. At the same time, we must develop and diversify our international trade relations, and the Conservatives are completely incompetent when it comes to this.

[Mike Lake, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry]

Madam Speaker, I was riveted as I listened to the speech of the hon. member. He spoke glowingly of former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. It struck me as a little odd. As I was listening to him I was also looking at some past issues of Hansard from 2000. I note the hon. member had this to say:

I was appalled at the recent national Liberal convention, which I attended as an observer for my party. I also was a commentator for CBC and CTV. I was there for the weekend and I felt a bit like an undercover rabbi at a PLO conference.

He went on to say:

It was an interesting experience, to say the least, but the fact is that what I learned disappointed me about the leadership of the Liberal Party at this time. Frankly, I had expected that the Prime Minister would have had a better idea of where the world was going...

The member said that when Chrétien was the prime minister. Could he could explain the change in his views since then?

[Scott Brison, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Madam Speaker, that reminds me of the time when John Maynard Keynes was involved in a debate and his opponents said, “Mr. Keynes, your view on monetary policy has changed dramatically over the last 20 years because 20 years ago this is what you said on monetary policy”. Keynes said, “Well, sir, the facts have changed and when the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?”

The facts are the Chrétien government and the Martin government understood the importance of China and India, as did the Mulroney government, as did the Diefenbaker government and the Trudeau government. The only government of any political stripe in Canada over the last 40 years to not understand the importance of engaging China has been the current Conservative government. It has betrayed a bipartisan commitment to engagement of China in developing Canadian jobs in China.

[Jim Maloway, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Madam Speaker, the member was asked by my colleague, the member for Burnaby—New Westminster, about hearings at committee stage and he did not answer the question.

Is the member in favour of hearings at the committee stage so a variety of presenters can come and have their say?

[Scott Brison, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Absolutely, Madam Speaker. I will be looking forward to committee and to hearing from witnesses and hearing the potential impact that the agreement can have on the people of Jordan and the people of Canada in terms of the economic and social impact on both countries.

This is something we have done, for instance, at committee with the Canada-Colombia agreement. The overwhelming evidence is that the Canada-Colombia FTA will strengthen and improve the lives of Colombians, their economic opportunities and their rights and securities.

This is the kind of information we garner when we actually listen to witnesses with an open mind, as opposed to badgering them with ideological rhetoric, as has been the case with the NDP when witnesses appear.

[The Acting Speaker, NDP, Denise Savoie]

Resuming debate. The hon. member for Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques has the floor. I just want to let him know that he can begin his remarks, but that I will have to interrupt him at 2 p.m.

[Claude Guimond, Bloc, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Madam Speaker, the Bloc Québécois is the only party on Parliament Hill that truly defends the interests of Quebeckers, and it is the only party that has remained faithful to its values and principles. We are the only party with integrity.

The provisions of Bill C-57, to implement the Free Trade Agreement between Canada and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, are such that the members of the Bloc Québécois can vote in favour of the agreement.

However, we want to express some criticisms that we hope will be taken into account and will help the Conservative Party and maybe even the Liberal Party change their approach. Despite the fact that we support Bill C-57, we feel that the Conservatives are wrong to negotiate bilateral agreements at the expense of multilateral agreements.

Why do we support this bill? Despite the fact that Jordan is, quite frankly, a small trading partner, an agreement with the country is in Quebec's best interests. In this time of economic turmoil, with a forestry industry in crisis, this agreement can give private woodlot owners and the forestry industry in Quebec a leg up.

The Conservative government's refusal to help the forestry sector as much as it helped Ontario's automotive sector is doing nothing of course to improve the situation facing thousands of workers who have been hit hard by the current forestry crisis.

Considering the fact that out of the $35 million worth that Quebec exports to Jordan, $25 million comes from the pulp and paper sector, the agreement in question would allow us to maintain this situation, for one, as well as offer new opportunities to our pulp and paper producers and to our private woodlot owners, of whom there are 130,000 in Quebec. It is also important to consider the fact that our trade balance with Jordan is in Quebec's favour.

Unlike Bill C-23, which we have been discussing for quite some time now in the House, that is, the free trade agreement between Canada and the Republic of Colombia, the agriculture that goes on in Jordan does not present a threat to Quebec farmers. The proof is that the Union des producteurs agricoles du Québec, of which I was once president for my region, supports this bill. However, despite the fact that natural ground and surface waters, in their liquid, gas or solid form, are excluded from the agreement by the enabling statute, the Bloc Québécois noted that this exclusion is not written into the text of the agreement itself.

That is why the Bloc Québécois would like to ensure that Quebec's major water resources are clearly excluded from the agreement, so that control over their development remains in the hands of Quebeckers and the Quebec nation.

Considering that Canada has already entered into a trade agreement with Israel, signing a similar agreement with a neighbouring country, whose relations with Israel can be difficult, would help show a certain balance in interests in the Middle East region.

[The Acting Speaker, NDP, Denise Savoie]

I am sorry to have to interrupt the hon. member for Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques. He will have approximately fifteen and a half minutes when debate resumes on this bill.

Statements by members. The hon. member for Huron—Bruce.

The House resumed consideration of the motion that Bill C-57, An Act to implement the Free Trade Agreement between Canada and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Agreement on the Environment between Canada and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Agreement on Labour Cooperation between Canada and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, be read the second time and referred to a committee.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Before question period, the hon. member for Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques had the floor. He has 16 minutes left to complete his remarks.

The hon. member for Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques.

[Claude Guimond, Bloc, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank you for giving me the floor again so that I may continue to talk about the Bloc Québécois' observations of Bill C-57.

We agree with Bill C-57, Canada-Jordan Free Trade Act, but we have a few small comments to make that we hope will be considered by the government.

Considering that Canada has already entered into a trade agreement with Israel, signing a similar agreement with a neighbouring country, whose relations with Israel can be difficult, would help show a certain balance in our interests in the Middle East region. Such an agreement with Jordan would also send a positive message that Canada is open to cooperation.

Concluding this agreement would send a signal to other Middle Eastern countries wanting to develop better economic relations with the West.

The Bloc Québécois wants fair globalization. It is something to strive for and I hope the Conservatives will agree with us on this.

For the Bloc Québécois, it is out of the question to accept a free trade agreement that would be a race to the bottom and ignores human rights, workers' rights and the environment, not unlike Bill C-23, which we have been debating for a long time: the Canada-Colombia free trade agreement. That agreement is a very bad example of fair globalization.

The absence of environmental or labour standards in trade agreements puts a great deal of pressure on our industries, mainly our traditional industries. It is difficult for them to compete when products are made with no regard for basic social rights. It is difficult to compete with that type of business.

It is therefore increasingly important, at a time when we are still trying to define globalization, to have fair and balanced trade agreements. Let us choose a multilateral approach and limit bilateral agreements that do not allow for standards to be set to civilize trade.

That is what the Bloc Québécois really does not like about the Conservative government's strategy and its approach to negotiating trade agreements. Bill C-57 is no exception.

Quebec is not in a position to implement protectionist measures and rely solely on our domestic market. We have to pursue fair trade opportunities in the context of multilateral agreements.

Someday, Quebec will be a fully independent country, and we will represent ourselves internationally. In the meantime, the Bloc Québécois would like to propose some changes to Canada's trade priorities. Canada has moved toward trade liberalization and must now concentrate on developing regulations that will promote fairer trade. The Bloc Québécois believes that our trade policy must focus on fair globalization, not the shameless pursuit of profit at the expense of people and the environment in certain countries that clearly need help.

If Canada wants to maintain its credibility on this front, it should immediately sign on to the International Labour Organization's principal conventions against various forms of discrimination, forced labour and child labour, as well as those in support of the right to organize and collective bargaining.

The Bloc Québécois is urging the federal government to change its position on trade agreement negotiations to include provisions ensuring respect for international standards with respect to labour law, human rights and the environment.

In their current form, side agreements on minimum labour standards and environmental protection lack a binding mechanism that would make them truly effective.

The Bloc Québécois also wishes to reiterate its full confidence in the multilateral process. We believe that this in the only forum in which countries can work toward adopting regulations that will foster fairer globalization.

In closing, I want to say that the Bloc Québécois will only support future bilateral free trade agreements if it believes that they will benefit Quebec's economy. We want to see future free trade agreements contain provisions ensuring respect for minimum standards with respect to human rights, labour law and the environment.

That is what the Bloc Québécois calls fair globalization.

[Peter Julian, NDP, Burnaby—New Westminster, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I listened with interest to my hon. colleague, as I do twice a week at the Standing Committee on International Trade.

We are talking about an agreement with Jordan. True, Jordan is not Colombia, which is a very good thing. We all know just how appalling the situation is in Colombia.

That being said, there are nevertheless some problems related to human rights in Jordan. Problems have been identified by many workers who are not from Jordan and are mistreated. There are reports of sexual abuse and attacks against female workers who are from outside Jordan.

This agreement does not include any protection. There are side agreements on the environment and on labour, but those agreements are not legally binding, as the member well knows. These provisions do not require the government to take any action. Fortunately, more and more trade agreements from the European Union and South America have provisions requiring governments to take action.

Since these provisions are not legally binding, they cannot be used to force the government to take any measures regarding these worrisome issues. Does my colleague believe that this agreement goes far enough? Should it not be strengthened?

[Claude Guimond, Bloc, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his comment and his question.

As I mentioned in my speech, the Bloc Québécois is convinced that bilateral agreements are not the best way to achieve fair trade. For that reason, every time we have the opportunity to talk about free trade agreements in committee or in this House, we tend to speak of multilateral globalization. We believe that multilateral globalization would raise the bar rather than lowering it. We also hope to enter into agreements that are of benefit to certain countries in order to provide them with the opportunity to improve human rights, environmental rights, labour rights and so forth.

In the debate on Bill C-57, a number of my colleagues will soon have the opportunity to criticize the agreement, which, like all the others introduced by the Conservative government, requires improvement and additional guarantees in order for Canada to enter into fairer free trade agreements with other countries on this planet.

[Serge Cardin, Bloc, Sherbrooke, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would first like to congratulate my colleague from Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques on his thorough knowledge of this file. We just recently received everything we needed. We undertook an analysis that we do not claim to be comprehensive in that there may be some minor items that we find puzzling.

We know that freedom of association may be affected. However, we must understand that this country has almost 1.7 million Muslim refugees, among others. If freedom of association is mentioned it may be to prevent Islamic gatherings. We know that there may be implications for the countries surrounding Jordan. These may be appropriate measures for the situation. For that reason, the committee must conduct a thorough analysis.

I would like to point out that the freedoms of associations such as unions may be affected. These issues must be examined in more detail. I know that my colleague is very interested in union freedoms and I would like to hear what he has to say about this.

[Claude Guimond, Bloc, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Sherbrooke, with whom I have the great pleasure to work on the Standing Committee on International Trade.

I am happy to have the opportunity to speak to this issue. As hon. members know, I am a farmer. Even though I have been a member of Parliament for a year, I still have my farm. For 15 years, I was involved in the farm union movement in my area, the lower St. Lawrence, and in Quebec, but also with other alliances of workers' unions and so on.

For years, especially in Quebec, we have been saying—and I have been saying in particular, as a farmer who has been involved in standing up for farmers' rights—that if, as farmers and workers, we want to succeed and keep on developing in a viable way, we must look to foreign trade and agreements with other countries. However, we have also been saying that this has to be done in a way that benefits everyone. It has to win-win for everyone. It has to be a winning proposition for my brother and me on my farm in Rimouski and a winning proposition for my fellow farmer in a developing country. To my way of thinking and in the opinion of the farmers in Quebec and in the lower St. Lawrence, this is the only way to achieve sustainable, fair trade, so that as many people as possible can live decently, wherever they may be.

[Peter Julian, NDP, Burnaby—New Westminster, BC]

Mr. Speaker, that is the problem at present. As the member put it so well, the side agreements on labour and the environment do not require the governments of Jordan and Canada to raise their standards.

Is the member of the opinion that this is a flaw of these bilateral agreements that are often signed by the Conservatives, who do not really believe in the fair trade approach?

[Claude Guimond, Bloc, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Definitely, Mr. Speaker. My NDP colleague will agree with me. We have an opportunity to denounce this at every meeting of the Standing Committee on International Trade. The Conservatives—the current government—have no concept of what fair trade or fair globalization should be.

Rest assured that every time my colleague from Sherbrooke, other Bloc members and I speak during debates on foreign trade, we will repeat and say loud and clear that there must be an improvement in how we conduct trade here in Canada. The Conservatives must improve how they conduct trade. It is not just a question of profits, it is a question of equity between farmers, workers and union members here and union members in other countries, so that everyone comes out a winner in the end.

[Peter Julian, NDP, Burnaby—New Westminster, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to follow my colleague from Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, as associate of the trade committee, to talk about Bill C-57.

As we know, this was tabled just this week. Therefore, within the space of a few hours, we have been able to take a look at the bill and at the many clauses, both of the free trade agreement itself and, more important, the issue around the investor state protections, which is part of the template that our international trade ministry brings to every trade agreement that we sign, and two other side agreements that have no real obligations contained within them.

It is a lot of material, but it is fair to say that, at a glance, this has the same approach we have seen from the Conservative government many times before, despite the fact the NDP, and I think most Canadians, has been very clear what we would prefer to see is a fair trade approach on trade. This is why the fair trade sector is booming in our country. Millions of Canadians are making the choice every day to buy fair trade products.

Despite the fact the NDP constructively continues to bring these amendments forward, the government just does not seem to understand that Canadians, and much of the world, have shifted in their approach to trade.

The most egregious part of the lack of a Conservative overall trade strategy is no evaluation is done. No evaluation is ever done on the impacts of these trade agreements. No evaluation is ever done as to the potential for trade with a particular country. No evaluation is ever done about the downsides of that trade agreement. No evaluation is ever done about the situation in the country as a whole.

There is never a due diligence, ever, done on these bilateral trade agreements. That is the tragedy because Canadians expect a lot more.

What is the result? If we look at the last 20 years and at all the trade agreements that were supposed to bring prosperity, starting with the Canada-U.S. free trade agreement, and if we look at the analysis and data provided by Statistics Canada, and this data is open to every member of Parliament, we will see that two-thirds of Canadian families have seen their real income fall over the past 20 years.

We hear a lot of cheerleading about these agreements bringing massive prosperity, but the facts speak for themselves. Two-thirds of Canadians have seen their real income fall. The entire middle class has seen their income erode considerably. This explains why the debt load of the average family has doubled over the past 20 years. This is a crushing debt burden because real income has fallen. Expenses have not gone down, they have increased. Canadians are finding it harder and harder to make ends meet.

It gets worse when we go to the lower income categories. The poorest of Canadians have seen their income collapse, losing about a month and a half's income over the course of a year. That is why it is no surprise why tonight we will see, tragically, about 300,000 Canadians sleeping out in parks and along the main streets of our country. It is because this so-called free trade regime, with all of the right-wing economic policies that go with it, and I am not only blaming the Conservatives, the Liberals brought these policies in, have led to most Canadians being much poorer. Free trade has come at an enormous cost when most people are earning far less than they were 20 years ago.

If any Conservative or Liberal MP had chosen to look at the facts and figures of an analysis done, they would have to say that this policy has not worked very well and there has to be adjustments.

We in this corner of the House have been saying that. This is why our numbers keep growing. The fundamental reason why our numbers keep growing is Canadians trust we will actually do the due diligence and ask the tough questions when it comes to legislation brought before the House and when it comes to free trade agreements.

We see increased poverty in the country, so it is clear the overall thrust of free trade agreements has failed.

Let us look at the purported intention of stimulating exports. Here again, if we do the analysis and look at the facts, in a lot of cases, after signing a bilateral trade agreement, Canada's exports to that particular market, the market that was targeted by the free trade agreement, actually fell.

I know politicians love to go before the cameras and cut ribbons, but the act of presenting a free trade agreement does not necessarily even lead to an increase in exports to that market, so there is something fundamentally wrong there. Why? What are the causes?

We have some very clear indications from testimony, even in the last two weeks, before the international trade committee. We had the beef and cattle industry come forward and testify that it received pennies in product promotion support from the federal government compared to the tens of millions of dollars given by other countries. Australia was cited as an example, with $100 million in product promotion just for the beef, cattle and pork industries alone.

Now let us take all the product promotion from all sources in Canada. Unfortunately, the federal government puts in less for all products in all markets in a larger economy than Australia invests just for its beef, cattle and pork industries. I see your surprised expression, Mr. Speaker, but that is the fact. Australia spends many times more for one sector than Canada spends in all sectors. That would explain why our exports fall in a lot of these cases where we sign bilateral trade deals.

The idea that these bilateral trade deals are part of a strong export policy is simply false. What we have are Scrooges on the other side of the House who have been nickel and diming our important industrial sectors to death. Not only do they not have any sort of industrial strategy, but they are not even willing to put the investments in that other countries are.

Just taking the wine sector, the European Union spends $125 million, about four to five times more than all Canadian product promotion put together. Australia spends half a billion. We spend a few million dollars.

If we look at the pork industry, it is the same thing. The pork industry came before the international trade committee. A few million dollars a year is what it gets, when countries such as the United States spend tens of millions of dollars.

The reason why these bilateral trade agreements do not even necessarily lead to an increase in exports to those markets is here is no export strategy by the government. There is no trade strategy. There is no evaluation ever of the impacts of the agreements it signs. The Conservative politicians simply show up for a photo op, cut the ribbon and then they go on and pretend they have provided for some meaningful economic strategy. It is simply not true.

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

No, you have it wrong.

[Peter Julian, NDP, Burnaby—New Westminster, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the truth of the powerful NDP words again is having some impact on the Conservative side of the House. Thank goodness. I just wish they would put more of what we say into action.

That is the fundamental reality. We see exports fall. We see a lack of support for important strategic sectors and then we see deals signed that actually undermine those key sectors.

We had the EFTA deal before the House. We had pleas from hundreds and hundreds of shipyard workers across the country, including from Quebec, Nova Scotia, Vancouver, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Ontario, all saying that it would have a profoundly negative impact on what should be a strategic industry. They said that the EFTA deal would kill their industry. That was the testimony before committee. A very clear message was delivered. Yet we had other parties vote to put that deal into place even though they had been told that essentially it would hit our shipyard industry hard.

Therefore, we have a fundamental problem about the approach in trade, the lack of evaluation. We have a fundamental problem with the fact that we simply do not do an evaluation on a market to market basis, that there is no export strategy overall and certainly not the resources allocated to our export industries that should be and that other countries do.

Therefore, let us get to the template on the Jordan agreement. Canadians who are listening can download their own free trade agreement from the DFAIT website. It shows how appalling simple-minded the approach is on trade. We have a template that has existed for 20 years, while other countries are updating their trade model, improving their trade model to bring concrete results. We have the same model that has sat around for 20 years. People can download it and sign it with their neighbours. It is absurd.

These templates, of which Jordan unfortunately is part, are simply investor protection and investor state provisions coupled with some tariff reduction and then coupled with meaningless side agreements.

The side agreements unfortunately never impose any obligation. Other countries have moved way beyond that. They have binding obligations around human rights, social and labour standards, but not our template. Our 20-year-old Ford Pinto, which is the trade model Conservatives like to bring forward, does not do any of that. What it does is offer investor state protections.

This goes back to the NAFTA days and the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement days. What happened after we signed this agreement? The House knows that provinces, municipalities and many Canadians have great difficulty with the chapter 11 provisions in NAFTA. They allow companies basically to rip off the public purse in order to get compensation for products that endanger the health, the environment for whatever reason, if the government acts to stop these companies from providing these horrible products. Then they get to sue taxpayers and they get a fancy cheque. They get to take the money right out of the wallets of taxpayer, even though Canadians want the government to intervene to stop the product from being put forward.

We have seen this with the domestic pesticide ban in Quebec. We now have a company that can use these investor state provisions to go after the Quebec government, a government that has taken a democratic decision, in the interest of its citizens. Now potentially taxpayers will have to pay for the government taking care of them. This is absolutely absurd.

After that clause was included in NAFTA, and this was only for the NAFTA agreement, the United States moved right away from it. The United States realized that this undermined the ability of parliaments and legislatures to take actions to protect their own populations.

The U.S. has never signed a similar agreement since. It has moved away from it. It has allowed for environmental, health and safety overrides. Canada, as I mentioned, has that old 20-year-old Ford Pinto that still allows for companies to gouge Canadian taxpayers if any action is taken and impinges on their profits.

Tragically that 20-year-old model is in the Jordan agreement. Therefore, we see the same kinds of problems that have come up in the past, problems about which so many people have spoken. The same people who have raised this issue right across Canadian society have not been heard.

The old Liberal Ford Pinto has been taken over by the Conservatives. They do the ribbon-cutting ceremony and then they move on. If it were about economic development, we would see some muscle, some investment behind a real export strategy, which is what the NDP has been calling for and has been pushing.

Just this week an NDP motion passed in the committee on international trade, calling on the government to address the historic underfunding to the beef and cattle industry and to really work for a level playing field with out competitors. Australia and the United States are investing many times more in product promotion for that sector.

Beef and cattle ranchers can now say that it is because of the NDP that there will be a push to finally get more money out of the Conservative government to really support the beef and cattle industry. That has been what we have been calling for historically.

So, we have an agreement with no strategy. We have investor state provisions within the Jordan agreement that simply are inappropriate. Now we need to look at the provisions, the so-called side agreements on labour and the environment, that are kind of thrown in as an afterthought. They do not impose any obligations on the country. There is a process. There are a lot of meetings and bureaucrats get to drink a lot of coffee, but in the end there is nothing binding in this agreement on labour rights, human rights or the environment.

Then we need to know what the situation is in Jordan if we are not pressing on any of these issues? If we just have this cosmetic paper that we killed a couple of trees to pretend there has been some action but there is nothing binding in those provisions, then we need to look at what is actually happening in Jordan.

Now Jordan is not Colombia. Colombia is outrageously bad. Paramilitary thugs and drug pushers are all connected to the government and all supported by the Conservatives. Jordan is not like that but there are some causes for concern. Obviously, the committee on international trade will need to take some time to look at the possible implications from the lack of any sort of binding obligations on the Jordanian government.

I will reference the U.S. Department of State's 2008 human rights report on Jordan. Some of the elements are positive but some are clearly negative.

The first is on arbitrary or unlawful deprivation of life. As we know, in Colombia we are talking about hundreds of people massacred every year by right wing paramilitary thugs, the Colombian military, but in Jordan's case, it states:

In contrast with 2007, there were no reports during the year that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings. The government completed investigations of allegations made in two 2007 deaths....

So, we do see action from the Jordanian government there.

Second is on disappearances. In Colombia, that has been a horrible and constant tragedy. Disappearances In Colombia occur on a daily basis, but for Jordan, the 2008 human rights report states:

There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances.

Third is torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Now on that there is some cause for concern. The report states:

Although torture is illegal in the country, an October report by the NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW), "Torture and Impunity in Jordan's Prisons," concluded that torture remained a widespread practice. Interviews with 66 prisoners in seven of the country's 10 prisons produced allegations of ill-treatment, which HRW concluded often amounted to torture.

Next we move to arbitrary arrest or detention. The report states:

Some human rights groups continued to voice concern over the 2006 Prevention of Terrorism Act, complaining that its definition of terrorism might lead nonviolent critics of the government to be arrested or detained indefinitely under the provisions of the act. However, the government had yet to make use of the act at year's end

Section e, “Denial of Fair Public Trial” states:

The law provides for an independent judiciary. In practice the judiciary's independence was compromised due to allegations of nepotism and the influence of special interests.

There are also very clear concerns of abuse around women, domestic workers imported from outside Jordan. There have been calls within the United Nations and by human rights organizations about this.

It is clear that our work has begun on this. Real concerns have been expressed by our party and by many in civil society. If Parliament chooses to refer this for further study to the international trade committee, it will need to take a long look at the implications of this agreement and of the possible impacts having this agreement put into effect.

On that basis, of course, we have legitimate concerns. We will continue to push the government to bring in fair trade legislation and we will continue to work on this bill so that it becomes more fair trade in nature.

[Lois Brown, Conservative, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I listened to the member's speech and I wonder if he could enlighten the House. He claimed that there are investor state provisions in this bill and I do not believe there are. They are governed by a separate foreign investment protection agreement. The member did not read this before he decided to oppose it.

The NDP has never supported a free trade agreement. I wonder if the member could comment on where he is seeing these investor state provisions.

[Peter Julian, NDP, Burnaby—New Westminster, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad the member has at least looked at the talking notes from the Prime Minister's office. However, she needs to look at page 3, under “Promotion and Protection of Investments”, where it talks about the damage as a result of a breach of agreement and monetary compensation and says, “Furthermore, where it is pursuant to investor state, arbitrations are enforceable in Canada”. There are about 70 pages in all and later on in that section she will see further reference to the type of investor state provisions that we believe are inappropriate.

Many other countries, the United States primary among them, are moving away from the model. In fact, the United States moved immediately away from that model after it signed NAFTA. Canada is pretty well alone in going out with this old, outdated Ford Pinto model of trade agreements.

Since I have the floor, as the member has given me a few more minutes to speak, and I do appreciate her concerns, Amnesty International called on the government of Jordan to officially and publicly condemn all acts of torture and other ill-treatment; establish a system of regular, unannounced and unrestricted visits by independent national bodies to all places of detention; make public the names of individuals transferred into Jordanian custody from U.S. custody; and a series of measures to end violence and discrimination against women.

[Jim Maloway, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the member for Burnaby—New Westminster for a fantastic speech. I have to say that the members opposite will need to get up awfully early to catch the member in any factual errors.

The member has explained in great detail why a bilateral agreement is a race to the bottom and really not the answer in trade agreements. He has referred to it as the Ford Pinto. Would he give us some details of what a fair trade agreement would look like? We dealt with it in quite a bit of detail when we were talking about the Canada-Colombia trade agreement and others, but clearly the message is not getting through to the government as to what the elements of a fair trade agreement should look like.

Perhaps the member could, once again, enlighten the government on the elements of a fair trade deal.

[Peter Julian, NDP, Burnaby—New Westminster, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have never brought any elements of fair trade into any of their agreements, and previously, even with the Liberal government, never scrutinized or amended any of the amendments brought forward.

Conservative members seem to rubber stamp whatever is brought forward and this is unfortunate because the NDP has been very clear. We have brought forward anti-sweatshop legislation and buy Canadian legislation which are both before the House. The anti-sweatshop legislation is very important because it is not only good for workers to have higher labour standards set, it is also makes companies more competitive.

I met with representatives of the mining sector yesterday and they admitted that it was tough to compete when we have lower and lower standards. When we have companies that want to slash health and safety standards, defy any environmental guidelines and pay their workers sweatshop wages, it is tough for the good companies to compete.

In this corner of the House we have always said and will continue to say, until we take over the government direction and are able to put in place fair trade legislation, that we need to go to a higher standard. We are saying that a higher standard with fair trade legislation makes it an obligation to maintain those higher standards, not an option or some sort of voluntary agreement but an obligation. That is what fair trade is all about and most Canadians support a fair trade agenda.

[Serge Cardin, Bloc, Sherbrooke, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask my colleague a question about the human rights problems in Jordan that he alluded to. I would like him to tell us how serious the human rights problems in Jordan are and to compare the situation there with the situation in Colombia, which we in the Bloc Québécois consider intolerable and unacceptable.

We are faced with two different free trade agreements. Colombia has a high and even extremely high level of human rights abuses, but we know that there are also some abuses in Jordan. I would like the member to compare the two countries.

[Peter Julian, NDP, Burnaby—New Westminster, BC]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, there are not as many disappearances and murders as there are in Colombia. As we know, in Colombia, dozens of trade unionists have been killed because they wanted to help workers improve their standard of living. People disappear every day. Hundreds of people disappear, and unfortunately, this epidemic of murders and disappearances has been getting worse for a number of years.

In Jordan, there are no cases like these, or very few. In 2008, there was not a single murder carried out by agencies linked to the government, and there was not a single disappearance case.

The member for Sherbrooke knows very well, all the reports on Colombia from human rights agencies show that the situation is absolutely disgusting. This week, I shared that with a number of my Liberal colleagues. Instances of torture by the Colombian army have gone up by 80%. Hundreds and hundreds of people are tortured every year by the Colombian army, and I know that this has made a number of Liberals wonder what we are doing establishing a special trade relationship with a regime that has so much blood on its hands.

In Jordan, they are at least trying, and there are some positives. But in terms of the issues of women and torture in prisons, a lot of work remains to be done.

[Jim Maloway, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the member talked about Canada being an exporting country, which we are, and the lack of an export strategy. I would like him to explain the elements of a comprehensive export strategy that he would like to see in this country.

[Peter Julian, NDP, Burnaby—New Westminster, BC]

Mr. Speaker, that was a great question because the NDP is the one advocate in this House for a very strong export strategy that is based on what works.

Australia spends half a billion dollars promoting its products. The Australian government invests in its products right around the world. Canada spends $1 million here and $1 million there. It is very obvious that what we are doing is severely disadvantaging our export industries.

It is not a question of ribbon cutting. I know Conservative politicians love to cut ribbons. It is really about having a centred export strategy that invests the kinds of amounts that our competitors are investing. The European Union invests $125 million into its wine industry, five times more than Canada spends on everything. The United States spends twice as much on just its beef industry than we spend on everything. We are nickel and diming our export industries to death. We are not providing the supports they need at all.

The government then brings in what are often very crude free trade agreements. As I said, we can download the template and sign our own free trade agreement. The government brings in trade agreements with no real negotiations, no real sense of what we are going to lose and what we are going to gain because it never even does an evaluation or an analysis. Not a single time has the Conservatives even tried to analyze what they are signing, and that is a tragedy.

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order. It is my duty pursuant to Standing Order 38 to inform the House that the questions to be raised tonight at the time of adjournment are as follows: the hon. member for Gatineau, Official Languages; the hon. member for Hull—Aylmer, Health; the hon. member for Malpeque, Agriculture.

Resuming debate, the hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services and to the Minister of National Revenue.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services and to the Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Kelowna—Lake Country.

I am very pleased to rise here in the House of Commons today to speak to the Canada-Jordan free trade agreement.

It is the most recent example of the Conservative government's dynamic strategy to generate more opportunities for Canadians in some of the world's largest markets.

Along with the bill to implement the free trade agreement, we also introduced a bill containing two agreements to protect labour and the environment, which clearly demonstrates our government's commitment to increasing business opportunities in a positive, responsible way.

I encourage all members of all parties in this House to support our government's efforts and pass this bill as soon as possible.

Canadian businesses are counting on us to create new opportunities in the Jordanian market, which is what we must do, without delay.

Markets like Jordan represent an important opportunity for Canadian and Quebec businesses.

Over the years our two countries have established a significant trade relationship in a number of areas: forestry, agri-food, machinery, communications technologies and clothing.

Companies and investors in both countries have been calling for closer commercial ties between our two countries for some time now. They see enormous potential and so does our government.

Today, I would like to focus on the advantages of this agreement for my province of Quebec.

Quebec has long been looking for opportunities beyond its borders, for its well-known companies like SNC-Lavalin and Bombardier and for the thousands of small and medium enterprises that export throughout the world. Quebec plays an important role in Canada's trade with the world. Jordan is no exception.

Quebec's exports to Jordan are significant. They account for 45% of Canada's total exports to Jordan, which ranks Quebec first among the Canadian provinces or territories in terms of exports to Jordan. We are in the lead; the statistics prove it.

In concrete numbers, exports from Quebec to Jordan were valued at $34.4 million in 2008, which represents an increase over the $19.5 million in 2006. There has been marked progress in four years.

The main exports were copper products, paper, wood pulp, cardboard and wood.

Jordan is a major growth market for Quebec in these key sectors.

That is why this free trade agreement will be such a crucial opportunity for Quebec exporters over the coming year.

This agreement will eliminate Jordanian tariffs on key exports and will contribute to making Quebec companies more competitive in the long term in certain essential sectors.

Take, for example, forestry products, which include paper and cardboard. They are a significant portion of Quebec's exports to Jordan for a total of $16.3 million in 2008, or roughly 60% of Canada's total forestry product exports to Jordan.

These goods are currently subject to a Jordanian tariff ranging between 10% and 30%. Under the free trade agreement, these tariff would be eliminated within five years. This is an exceptional opportunity to help our forestry industry, which was hit hard by the global economic downturn.

The machinery sector is another good example. Exports of Quebec machinery to Jordan totalled $700,000 last year, which represents approximately 9% of Canada's total machinery exports to Jordan. These exports are also subject to a Jordanian tariff of between 10% and 30%, which will also be eliminated within five years once the free trade agreement goes into effect.

Quebec's textile industry would also benefit from this agreement. Textile goods are currently subject to a tariff of between 5% and 25%, which would be eliminated within five years once the agreement is implemented.

Pharmaceuticals represent another growth sector in Quebec and an increasing share of our exports to Jordan. In fact, exports of Quebec pharmaceuticals to Jordan have increased considerably in recent years, rising by 164%, from $280,000 in 2006 to $750,000 last year. Therefore, it is not surprising that Canada's pharmaceutical companies would like to increase their access to the Jordanian market. When the free trade agreement is implemented, the present 5% tariff will be eliminated immediately.

These are just a few of the many Quebec sectors that will benefit from lower Jordanian tariffs.

We could also talk about the shipbuilding, agriculture, cosmetics, furniture and aerospace industries. All these are vital to the prosperity of Canada and Quebec. They help sustain employment and communities throughout the country. And I believe that companies in all these sectors can compete and succeed in the Jordanian market. To do so, they must have equal opportunities.

This free trade agreement would give them the access they need to compete, to get into one of the most interesting markets and to develop new market opportunities to make Canada and Quebec more prosperous. That is why I urge all members to support the bill in order to implement this free trade agreement as quickly as possible. Our businesses need our help now. I am asking all members to help us support them.

But the advantages of strengthening our relationship with Jordan go beyond economics and trade. As we know, our government is also committed to ensuring that we do not expand market opportunities at the expense of labour and environmental rights. We must focus on both of these things at the same time.

That is why Quebeckers can also be pleased that we have introduced a bill to implement two other agreements with Jordan: an agreement on labour cooperation, and an agreement on the environment. These agreements require the two countries to enforce and protect labour principles and rights, and to enforce high standards of environmental protection.

These agreements are further proof of our government's commitment to ensuring that we do not expand market opportunities at the expense of the environment and workers.

As we know, Canada has had a record year when it comes to the creation of market opportunities for our businesses and investors throughout the world. The Canada-Jordan free trade agreement is another step in our efforts to help Canadians seize these opportunities.

[Daniel Petit, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the hon. member a question.

I listened carefully to his speech, particularly when he was talking about how this free trade agreement will benefit my home province, Quebec. I think he was saying that the faster this agreement is signed, the sooner people will benefit from it.

He mentioned eliminating tariffs between Jordan and Quebec on forestry products, machinery, textiles and pharmaceuticals, among other things.

Can he provide more information? Will this agreement affect aerospace companies such as Bombardier? Can he provide further details about the removal of tariffs under this agreement?

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his attention and his excellent question.

Upon implementation of the free trade agreement, the immediate elimination of tariffs on over 99% of recent Canadian exports, by value, to Jordan will directly benefit Canadian exporters. Jordan will eliminate all non-agricultural tariffs and the vast majority of agricultural tariffs. Jordan will immediately eliminate tariffs in the 10% to 30% range on many key Canadian exports, including pulse crops, frozen french fries, animal feed, various prepared foods, certain forestry products and machinery—sectors where Canadian companies lead the world.

Canada will eliminate all tariffs on Jordanian goods immediately upon entry into force of the free trade agreement, with the exception of over-quota tariffs on dairy, poultry and eggs, which are excluded from tariff reductions.

[Serge Cardin, Bloc, Sherbrooke, QC]

Mr. Speaker, as we have pointed out through questions and comments, my colleague who spoke earlier and I are in favour of this free trade agreement.

However, after listening to the hon. member for Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière speak, I am left with the impression that we should also be heartily congratulating the government for the impact this will have on the Quebec economy. In a way, he is right. Indeed, if we look at the $34 million in forest products, including pulp, paper and cardboard, this probably does represent more than the Conservative Party has done for the Quebec forestry industry in the past several years. We almost need to thank Jordan for making more of an effort than the Conservative government in this sector in Quebec.

We heard that this was part of the Conservative government's dynamic strategy and that this was going to be a significant free trade agreement; he spoke in superlatives. As we know, it represents $92 million worth of business for Canada, including about $72 million, I imagine, in Canadian exports. However, the member mentioned that this goes beyond trade and the economy.

I would like to know what specific improvements will be made in terms of workers' rights and the environment.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that my Bloc Québécois colleague recognizes that the Conservative government is doing an excellent job to promote Canadian exports and Quebec exports. We are very proud of that. I am also pleased that he said in this House that the government was doing everything it could so that Quebec could export excellent products, and I thank him.

With regard to labour cooperation, under this agreement, Canada and Jordan will promise to ensure that their legislation complies with the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, which was adopted in 1998 by the International Labour Organization. The declaration pertains to the right of freedom of association and collective bargaining, the abolition of child labour and forced labour and—

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order. Resuming debate. The hon. member for Kelowna—Lake Country.

[Ron Cannan, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for sharing his time, for his great intervention and for providing his words of wisdom, not only on behalf of members from Quebec but across the country. This is great news for all Canadians.

As a member of the Standing Committee on International Trade, it is a pleasure to rise in the House today to add my support to the Canada-Jordan free trade agreement and accompanying agreements on labour cooperation and the environment. These agreements are the latest examples of our government's strategy to open doors for Canadian businesses and investors in these challenging economic times.

In particular, the free trade agreement will benefit a number of sectors all across Canada. In the next 10 minutes, I will outline this fact to show Canadians how this agreement benefits all sectors, including the riding of Kelowna—Lake Country, which I have the privilege of representing. In 2008 British Columbia had over 10 million dollars' worth of trade with Jordan in paper, paper board, wood and machinery. Creating jobs is definitely what we are all about in these challenging economic times.

As we move forward in these sectors, we will talk about why our trade relationship with Jordan is so very critical at this time in our history. The fact is that sectors across Canada's economy need the kind of competitive access provided by this free trade agreement. The agreement immediately eliminates tariffs on the vast majority of current Canadian exports to Jordan. To be more precise, the agreement will eliminate all non-agricultural benefits and the vast majority of agricultural tariffs on our two-way trade. That is great news for farmers, who will benefit from this agreement.

The agreement eliminates tariffs on pulse crops, including lentils, peas and beans, frozen french fries, animal feed and various prepared foods. It will also expand opportunities for Canadians in other sectors, too, including forest products, industrial and electrical machinery, construction equipment and auto parts. Our manufacturers and Canadian employers in all these sectors need every competitive advantage they can get in the globalized competitive marketplace in which they are competing.

We are trying to have a level playing field and a rules-based trading agreement. We are developing new trading partners, not increasing protectionism, which we have heard other parties opposite advocating. We are increasing partnerships, not protectionism. Through tariff elimination, our free trade agreement with Jordan will open new doors for these sectors, create new opportunities for Canadians employed in them and help our businesses succeed in the global marketplace.

Permit me to take a moment to also touch on the foreign investment promotion and protection agreement, also known as FIPPA. Signed at the same time as a free trade agreement, this FIPPA will help encourage two-way investment by providing investors in both countries with the clarity and certainty they need when investing in each other's markets. There is a mechanism in place to ensure certainty, clarity and stability in that agreement and give Canadians confidence that they are going to invest in Jordan and vice versa.

Canadian investors are discovering a wealth of opportunities in the Jordanian market. Sectors such as resource extraction, nuclear energy, telecommunications, transportation and infrastructure all hold much promise for Canadian investors. Just look at the great success the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan has found in Jordan. It is now the largest foreign investor in Jordan. There is a long list of other Canadian companies. Earlier, my hon. colleague mentioned Bombardier and SNC-Lavalin. They have made significant inroads into the Jordanian market.

That is why the free trade agreement and the FIPPA are such great accomplishments. In a broader sense, it is only the beginning. This agreement is Canada's first ever free trade agreement with an Arab country.

A couple of years ago the trade committee had a chance to go to the Middle East. This is going to open the door to expansion for trade to the Middle East and north Africa, which is a great opportunity and very important for Canadian businesses.

This free trade agreement with Jordan gives us access to a critical market in the region. We have opened a number of significant doorways into the region and set the stage for Canadian businesses to create even more commercial links throughout the Middle East and north Africa in the years ahead.

Canada also believes that deeper commercial engagement need not come at the expense of labour standards or the environment. We think trade and investment can be a positive force for communities worldwide, which is why this government is very pleased to include parallel labour and environmental agreements as part of the larger package of agreements we have signed with Jordan.

Let us start with the labour cooperation agreement. It commits both countries to respect the core labour standards set out by the International Labour Organization. These are standards that help eliminate child labour, forced labour and workplace discrimination and that respect freedom of association and the right to bargain collectively. The agreement also commits both countries to providing acceptable minimum employment standards and compensation for occupational injuries and illnesses.

I should also add that under this agreement migrant workers will enjoy the same legal protections as nationals when it comes to working conditions. Also significant is the agreement on the environment which commits both countries to pursue high levels of environmental protection in the development and improvement of policies that protect the natural environment, a concern for all of us in the House.

Domestic environmental laws must be respected and enforced. This agreement commits both countries to this goal. It also commits both countries to ensure that strong environmental assessment processes are in place as well as remedies for violating environmental laws. This is very, very important.

Through the agreement on the environment, our government is also encouraging businesses to adopt best practices of corporate social responsibility and promote public awareness and engagement. I know Canadian businesses that are doing business around the world are leaders in CSR, corporate social responsibility, and are leading by example. These measures will help ensure that increased trade and investment does not come at the expense of the environment and that business can play a positive role in the life of each country.

This is a critical time for Canada's economy. The global economic downturn has hit all nations. We must take steps to sharpen Canada's competitive edge and prepare for the recovery. The global economy is not going away. One in five Canadian jobs depends on Canada trading in the world. That is why we have the global commerce strategy, which was embarked on with the previous international trade minister, Mr. Emerson, whom I highly respect. He is working in the private sector continuing to expand business around the world.

Now my colleague from Okanagan—Coquihalla is the Minister of International Trade. He and the Prime Minister were just at APEC, a major Asia-Pacific economic conference. They were in India and are going to China next month. We continue to expand and open doors for Canadian businesses. This is what it is all about, opportunities for our businesses and investors to thrive and prosper today and beyond the current economic downturn.

Our free trade agreement with Jordan is an important part of these efforts. Through the FIPPA and the two agreements on labour and environment, Canada needs those tools to be competitive in Jordan and continue making the links in the expanding markets of the Middle East and north Africa.

In summary, Canadians can count on our government to impose protectionism and defend free and open trade on the world stage. In less than four years our government has opened doors to Canadian businesses by concluding new free trade agreements with Colombia, Peru, Jordan, Panama and the European Free Trade Association states of Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Upon implementation, this free trade agreement with Jordan will eliminate tariffs on the vast majority of Canadian exports to Jordan, directly benefiting Canadian exports.

Key Canadian sectors that will immediately benefit include forestry, manufacturing and agriculture and agri-food. These are sectors in which Canadian companies are global leaders. I have a strong component of agriculture and horticulture in the Okanagan and we look forward in British Columbia, the Prairies and across Canada to opening new doors.

By eliminating tariffs on imports from Jordan, this also means better prices for consumers. That is what we are here for, to give our consumers the dollar value and continue to create jobs as well. It is a win-win all around. The labour cooperation agreement commits Canada and Jordan to respect and enforce internationally recognized labour principles and rights, such as the elimination of child labour, forced labour and workplace discrimination and the respect of freedom of association and the right to bargain collectively. Canada and Jordan have negotiated an agreement on the environment that commits the parties to maintain high levels of environmental protection to effectively enforce domestic environmental laws and to not relax or derogate from such laws to attract trader investment.

I ask all members of the House to support this agreement and our government's efforts to create jobs and opportunities for all Canadians, not only for today but for the years ahead.

[Peter Julian, NDP, Burnaby—New Westminster, BC]

Madam Speaker, I always like listening to my colleague from Kelowna.

The question here is pretty simple. We had the disastrous miscalculation by the Conservative government around Colombia, where the push-back from the public has been phenomenal. Canadians have simply said that they do not want to have a privileged trade regime with drug lords and paramilitary thugs. The Conservatives have felt that.

In this case, Jordan is very clearly not Colombia. There are very clear weaknesses in the approach the government takes on trade issues generally, which I outlined a few minutes ago.

Since the bill has just come before the House, would the member not agree that the international trade committee has the obligation to hear from women's groups, human rights organizations, business organizations and labour organizations? Should it not hear from all of those who are interested in coming forward to the committee to talk about the possible impacts of this agreement, since the government has done no studies to evaluate what the impact of this agreement would be on its own?

[Ron Cannan, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Madam Speaker, it is a privilege to answer my colleague from Burnaby—New Westminster. We have been serving together for the last few years on the international trade committee. I have had the chance travel with him.

Absolutely, from a committee perspective I look forward to hearing from witnesses from across the country, from all spectrums, on how the Canada-Jordan free trade agreement will benefit Canadians.

If there are some impacts from the Jordan perspective, we want to ensure that it is a free and fair trade agreement. That is what I am absolutely in favour of, not like the fact that we have spent over 33 hours in this House debating the Canada-Colombia agreement. It is clear that even from today's committee meeting the business community is losing market share. The fact is we need to move on that agreement sooner rather than later. Time is of the essence.

We have a chance to be leaders in the marketplace, to get in first and to expand. I hope that our opposition colleagues will not go down the road of protectionism but will look at free and fair trade agreements, such as the Canada-Jordan free trade agreement.

[Serge Cardin, Bloc, Sherbrooke, QC]

Madam Speaker, this is not the first free trade agreement to be examined at the Standing Committee on International Trade and, every time, we always ask whether an impact study has been done because we presume that the government and its negotiators have to conduct impact studies. That is a fine example because we never get an answer as to whether there is one or whether one has been done. We know full well that an entrepreneur who goes to CED for financial support has to have a business plan and long term projections of the impact this will have on their company. However, the government never seems to conduct impact studies to weigh the pros and cons of everything that might come up in the years to come.

Given that the government is cutting its teeth on a free trade agreement with a very small country, with relatively limited amounts of money, I would hope that this time it did an impact study. I would like the hon. member to say a few words about that.

[Ron Cannan, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague is a committee member as well. We look forward to continuing to move this agreement through our committee, hopefully much faster than the Colombia agreement, Bill C-23.

From a business perspective, Jordan is a growing market, at about 5.6%. It is fast growing. It is very stable. There are enhanced opportunities for Canadian business. We can look right across the country, from province to province. In Ontario there was almost 29 million dollars' worth of two-way trade in 2008. In British Columbia it was $11.8 million. In Saskatchewan it was $8.1 million. In Jordan it was $1.7 million. It is about $92 million of two-way trade.

We can look at the example of the U.S. The Americans had a trade agreement in place for many years. We are trying to level the playing field. That is a business case in itself. It would give our Canadian businesses an opportunity to be competing on a fair basis. They have had an exponential growth almost tenfold.

We are looking at the fact that we have opportunities for Canadian businesses. We would level the playing field. At the end of the day consumers would be paying lower prices.

[Irwin Cotler, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

Madam Speaker, I am delighted to rise and speak in favour of Bill C-57, An Act to implement the Free Trade Agreement between Canada and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Agreement on the Environment between Canada and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Agreement on Labour Cooperation between Canada and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

As has been said in this House during debate, this is the first trade agreement that Canada has signed with an Arab country, and it is only appropriate that Jordan be that country.

First, the Jordanian industry and trade minister, Amer Al-Hadidi, said, after the agreement was signed:

The signing is a testimony to the excellent relations between the two countries. We finished...negotiations...in record time.

Second, as they themselves have affirmed both on the occasion of the signing of the free trade agreement and in discussions that I have had with them when visiting the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, they have made great strides toward economic and trade liberalization, including developing an ambitious agenda which they hope will combat poverty and unemployment while seeking to protect the environment, promote economic growth and ensure an equitable distribution of goods and services consequent upon that economic growth.

Third, the trade agreement between Canada and Jordan will not only contribute to increasing bilateral trade ties, it will create new export opportunities for Jordanian products in foreign markets through the aggregate rules of origin with the countries that have already signed trade agreements with both Canada and Jordan, such as the United States and Israel.

Fourth, as His Majesty King Abdullah himself said on the occasion of the signing of the trade agreement, “It will help increase the volume of commercial exchange and expand economic cooperation between the two countries”, as “under the [trade agreement], Jordanian products will enter the Canadian market tariff and customs free as of the date the agreement goes into effect, expected to be at the end of 2009”.

At the same time, “Canadian products will benefit from a gradual decrease in tariffs and customs over a span of three to four years”.

As well, this free trade agreement will presage further cooperation between Canada and Jordan, and indeed again, His Majesty King Abdullah appreciated and expressed, as he put it, his appreciation for Canada's support for Jordan in implementing Jordan's development program, especially in the field of education, while expressing the hope that the two countries will further cooperate in the fields of alternative energy, water and nuclear progress.

This brings me to yet another perspective and reason for signing this agreement with Jordan, which will be the first Arab country for that purpose. The two countries, and it is important to factor this into the free trade agreement, also signed agreements to protect the environment, investments and labour rights.

I recall the representations made in this debate by the member for Burnaby—New Westminster, the cautionary note that he sounded with respect to the human rights issues, and the references he made with respect to the U.S. State Department report on matters relating to human rights. I expect that these will be issues that will be addressed in the testimony and submissions before committee as well.

Finally, as Jordan has signed a peace treaty with Israel, indeed we are speaking in this debate on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of that peace treaty between Jordan and Israel, and as Canada has now signed a free trade treaty with Jordan as it has with Israel, and has close cooperation with Israel as well as an excellent relationship with Jordan, this free trade agreement will, in that regard, help create a peace dividend as well as an economic, environmental and labour rights dividend for the reasons that I mentioned.

The value of this first ever free trade agreement between Canada and Jordan finds expression in the preamble and purposes of the free trade agreement to which I will turn at this point. Although I could reference the preamble, for reasons of time I will excerpt only clause 7 of the bill, which speaks to the purpose of the agreement and which says:

The purpose of this Act is to implement the Agreement and the related agreements, the objectives of which, as elaborated more specifically through their provisions--

That is why I am dealing now with summary form as is given in clause 7. The purposes of the agreement include:

(a) establish a free trade area in accordance with the Agreement;

(b) promote, through the expansion of reciprocal trade, the harmonious development of the economic relations between Canada and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in order to foster, in both countries, the advancement of economic activity;

(c) contribute, by the removal of barriers to trade, to the harmonious development and expansion of world trade;

(d) enhance and enforce environmental laws and regulations and strengthen cooperation on environmental matters;

(e) protect, enhance and enforce basic workers' rights, strengthen cooperation on labour matters and build on the respective international commitments of Canada and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on labour matters; and

(f) promote sustainable development.

The Canada-Jordan free trade agreement can be expected to provide important economic, environmental, labour, geopolitical, bilateral and multilateral benefits. It will of course require the oversight that is appropriate to these kinds of agreements, as will, in particular, the side agreements that relate to matters pertaining to environmental protection, workers' rights, and the issue of human rights as a whole.

Let me now try to identify in summary form the benefits that may arguably accrue from this Canada-Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan free trade agreement in a number of sectors. I will refer sequentially to the economic, environmental, labour, geopolitical, bilateral and multilateral sectors.

On the economic front, the free trade agreement would help promote bilateral economic trade as I referenced earlier. This bilateral economic trade between Canada and Jordan stood at $92 million in 2008, but as a result of this agreement, it can be expected to increase exponentially while enhancing competitiveness and establishing mutually advantageous rules to govern trade and reduce distortions through trade. This should accrue thereby to the benefit of both Canada and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in the sectors that have been referenced in the course of this debate and in which some of our provinces, including my own province of Quebec, have a particular interest and concern.

On the environmental front, this agreement has an environmental protection agreement which commits the parties to comprehensive and high-level sustained environmental protection. I might add that in matters of this kind, the environmental assessments will be particularly important as well as the panoply of remedies with respect to--

[The Acting Speaker, NDP, Denise Savoie]

Order, please. I regret to interrupt the hon. member. I would ask members in the House to refrain from discussions back and forth. They are disturbing. I would suggest that these conversations be taken outside to the lobby.

[Irwin Cotler, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

Madam Speaker, I am just concluding on the matter of the environmental sector. As I said, there is provision in the side environmental agreement for prospective environmental protection, and it is detailed in the side agreement, but that will require as well ongoing oversight in order to ensure that the protective framework, the remedial framework, the objective sought by way of economic protection comport not only with the understandings and undertakings in that side agreement but indeed with respect to the international economic and environmental protections to which Canada and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan respectively have committed themselves to.

This brings me now to the labour front. With respect to the labour front and again the side labour agreement, and I may spend a little more time on this one, the labour agreement commits both parties to protect, enhance and enforce basic workers' rights, to strengthen cooperation on labour matters, and to build on their respective international labour commitments.

In particular in that regard the labour agreement requires both parties to ensure that their laws respect the 1998 ILO declaration on fundamental principles and rights at work, which covers freedom of association, the right to collective bargaining, the abolition of child labour, the elimination of forced or compulsory labour, and the elimination of occupational discrimination as well as the International Labour Organization's decent work agenda.

I mention this because earlier the member for Burnaby—New Westminster addressed some of those concerns that fall within the area of labour rights that again will require our own oversight and accountability in that regard.

I might add that similarly oversight will be required with respect to this particular frame of understandings and undertakings where under the heading of obligations with respect to the memorandum of agreement on labour cooperation between Canada and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the obligations include providing protections for occupational health and safety, acceptable minimum employment standards such as minimum wage and overtime pay, compensation for occupational illnesses or injuries and non-discrimination in respect of working conditions for migrant workers.

The labour agreement also provides for an open and robust complaint and dispute resolution process. As well, the labour agreement, if in fact the understanding and undertakings will be appropriately adhered to and with the necessary accountability that must be involved, could serve to enhance and maintain Canada's good reputation in Jordan at the same time as Canada promotes a high standard for the protection of workers' rights, and parenthetically I would add women's rights as well.

I would like to say, because sometimes reference has been made to the provincial and territorial implications or obligations in this regard, that it should be pointed out that the provinces and territories are not bound by the obligations of the labour agreement unless they choose to implement the agreement within their territory. Provinces and territories will be subject to dispute settlement including the imposition of monetary assessments only if they sign a declaration indicating their acceptance of these obligations.

Admittedly the labour agreement does commit Canada to use its efforts to persuade provinces and territories to agree to be added to the declaration, but in fact the provinces and territories do not themselves have to agree to do this.

Let me move more quickly now to a close and speak to the issue of the geopolitical front. Such a free trade agreement can promote and enhance better relations not only between Canada and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in their bilateral economic relationship but also with Israel and the Palestinian authority.

There is, and it is not always appreciated, an intersecting and interlocking framework of agreement and set of economic relations in this regard among Canada, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Palestinian Authority and Israel.

It may well be that those kinds of intersecting, interlocking relationships, which can include as well provisions for joint industrial parks and the like, can help presage the development of more mutually amicable political relationships, so that we do not only have a formal treaty with respect to the participating countries but we do enhance matters of the political, diplomatic and juridical as well as economic relationships.

On the bilateral front, this can enhance the development of Canada-Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan relationships which are deemed at this point to be excellent, but hopefully, as has been indicated by those involved in this and in my own discussions with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan leadership, this can presage developing cooperation in areas such as technology, law, education, nuclear, economic development and the like. These are areas that they have indicated to us are things where Canada can play a role in the enhancement of an overall bilateral relationship of which the Canada-Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan bilateral free trade agreement will be an important component, but it will be a kind of standing invitation for the enhancement of the relationship in a multiplicity of sectors such as I have referenced.

Finally, on the multilateral front, the preamble speaks also to the promotion and protection of democracy, human rights and cultural diversity, as well as of course for the protection of the environment and workers' rights in the side agreements.

We have an excellent agreement on paper. The question is, how does this agreement actually operate in practice? There is always a distinction between law on the books and law in action. There is a distinction between an agreement on the books and an agreement in action. What happens in fact to environmental protection on the ground? What happens in fact to workers' rights on the ground?

We can have comprehensive side agreements in matters of the environment, in matters of workers' rights, but what will be needed will be the necessary cooperation, involvement, oversight and accountability in that regard to ensure that that which is expected of this agreement, particularly in the areas of human rights and all its configurations, will in fact be secured, enhanced and protected by this agreement.

[Kevin Sorenson, Conservative, Crowfoot, AB]

Madam Speaker, mine may be more comments than actual questions, but I would start by saying this. In 1905-06 my grandfather moved here, broke the land, cleared the trees and, generally speaking, planted wheat. That was what was all across the Prairies of this country, wheat.

We live in an age where the farming industry is dependent on the pulse crops, beef, oats, barley, canola and every different type of peas there are. That is the background.

The next thing I want to say is that trade issues frustrate people. Right now we are hung up with what is happening at Doha. Will we see any movement at Doha? Will we see action with our trade agreements? It is frustrating to industry. It is frustrating to our economy.

One of the trademarks of our government, and it is one that personally I am very proud of, is that we have initiated many different agreements, five agreements with eight countries and we are negotiating 50 more. This means opportunities. It means opportunities for the forestry industry and for my agricultural industry.

I respect and very much appreciated the hon. member's speech, or this speech on trade, and one out of two is not bad today, but if I were to ask him one question, it would be, why is it that the other parties, both the Bloc Québécois and the New Democratic Party, do not support--

[The Acting Speaker, NDP, Denise Savoie]

The hon. member for Mount Royal has a minute to respond.

[Irwin Cotler, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

Madam Speaker, I cannot speak for the other parties. They represent their own positions in an informed and effective fashion, so I will leave them to speak for themselves. I can only speak with respect to my party and my own position on this.

As I said, I have had longstanding relationships with the leadership of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in a number of the sectors to which I have alluded. In my view, this free trade agreement has the potential, as I said, to not only benefit the Canada-Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan bilateral relationship in economic terms but it has the potential to benefit it in a number of related sectors. I include the sectors of education, technology, co-operation, nuclear-related matters and the like.

I tried to signal a cautionary note that the concerns that were adduced in debate by my colleagues from the both the Bloc and the NDP invite us to ensure that the necessary oversight and accountability with respect to the concerns to which they alluded will in fact find expression.

[The Acting Speaker, NDP, Denise Savoie]

The hon. member will have approximately seven minutes remaining in questions and comments when this debate resumes.

It being 5:30 p.m., the House will now proceed to the consideration of private members' business as listed on today's order paper.