Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise in the House to speak to the Canada-Colombia free trade agreement again. I have spoken to it several times already. However, after listening to the member opposite, it gives me an opportunity to correct the record.
The great thing about the Parliament of Canada is that everything we say is on the record, all the facts can be checked. It is important for Canadians and for people interested in the debate to actually go back, see what has been said, and then go check the facts.
Of course, they have to go to appropriate and proper websites. They cannot just go to bogus, make up what they want websites. They have to actually go to authorities and they have to respect statistics, being careful when they read the statistics to understand that often statistics lie and sometimes liars state statistics. That is always a caution.
There are two things I wanted to finish up on in the short time that I had to ask the hon. member a question. I will touch on them. I have 20 minutes and then 10 minutes for questions and answers, so I think I have enough time to get my statement out.
My question was not answered, and I did not expect it to be answered, so I will put it out in full this time. The member for Burnaby—New Westminster, the NDP member who sits on committee, came to committee full of bluff and hyperbole and stated to our witnesses:
Obviously there are fundamental concerns about labour rights, about human rights. We had another massacre a few weeks ago. Twelve representatives of the Awa first nation were brutally killed. Human rights groups and eyewitnesses say that the Colombian military killed them. There has been no investigation. There is virtual impugnity for this kind of crime. I understand that you're not here to testify on human rights issues, but if you would care to comment on how the Canadian government should act when an arm of the Colombian government brutally massacres 12 of its citizens--
That was stated by the member for Burnaby—New Westminster. It is on the record at the committee for international trade. It is patently false. We later found out that the hon. member's brethren, the socialist insurrection in the jungle, FARC, because of their narco-trafficking, brutally murdered these 12 unfortunate individuals. There has been no apology to the committee. There has been no apology to the House. I just find that repulsive, actually, that anyone would attempt to mislead the committee in that way.
The other thing he said was about some type of bogus support for a free trade agreement that does not exist. This free trade agreement has everything in it that the hon. member mentioned. It has a side agreement on the environment and labour. Very strong and modern side agreements, I might add.
Finally, with the help, quite frankly, of the member for Kings—Hants, we agreed on a side agreement in this particular trade agreement on human rights. It is still not enough to satisfy the NDP, or the Bloc, I may add.
There is nothing that will satisfy them. It really does not matter what the agreement is, they will find an excuse. They will make up something. They will accuse somebody of some outrageous crime that would horrify any citizen in this country to find an excuse not to support something.
He talked about the cattle industry. Members of the Canadian cattle industry are some of our strongest supporters for this agreement. Do we think for a moment that they would be our strongest supporters if they had any worries about this agreement, that somehow they would be disadvantaged?
The reality is, we have a bilateral trading situation, not an agreement. We have bilateral trade today, not tomorrow, not next year, not five years down the road, not 10 years ago, but today, of $1.3 billion between Colombia and Canada.
We are proposing stronger, more stringent, and clearer guidelines and rules around this agreement. I am breaking it down to the lowest common denominator so the hon. member will understand it. We are trading right now with Colombia. We are going to put clearer guidelines around that trading so it is rules-based.
To further enhance this agreement, we have a side agreement on labour, so there can be no child labour, no forced labour. There have to be clear labour standards that protect workers.
On top of that we have a side agreement on the environment to ensure companies react in environmentally responsible ways. We also have a side agreement on human rights to ensure that all proponents in this agreement obey and follow human rights guidelines.
I know that is not enough for the party opposite, but when it is clearly explained, it is enough for most Canadians.
What do we have in Colombia? Colombia is a nation of 48 million people, many of them living in poverty, who want jobs, opportunities, and a future for their children. They want basic human rights policies and they want those policies to be followed and obeyed.
The government in Colombia has been maligned and accused of horrendous offences by the opposition. President Uribe and his ministers will tell us that the situation in Colombia is not perfect. Each and every single one of them will say the same thing, that the situation is not perfect, but compared to where the country was in the late eighties and early nineties, it has moved forward light years.
There was a time in Colombia when there were 30,000 paramilitary in the countryside. Those 30,000 paramilitary have been disbanded. The government will tell us that its own numbers indicate that 8,000 or 9,000 have been reinstated, but the Colombian government is working hard to ensure they are disbanded again.
Unfortunately, because Colombians do not have access to the global economy the same as other countries, they have been forced into narco-trafficking and the drug trade to make money. There is very little else for Colombians to do. We can continue to force them into narco-trafficking or we can actually help them find jobs in other areas.
We have to really look at the individuals in the Uribe government. Members of the NDP and the Bloc tell us that they are all nasty, fascist, right-wing dictator types. I ask people watching this debate today to go on the website and find the names of the individual members of the Uribe government, and look at their backgrounds. The Colombian government is made up of a hodge-podge of individuals.
A member of cabinet was a former left-wing newspaper editor. He was kidnapped and held by the paramilitary for I think two and a half years. He had a long period of time to worry about his personal safety. He was finally released. The foundations of democracy are strong enough in Colombia to allow him to run for elected office and become part of a government that is largely right of centre. He is certainly not right of centre.
Other members of cabinet have been kidnapped by FARC, the socialist insurgency in the jungle. People from every political stripe and every possible background make up the government in Colombia. They have one commonality: they all want a better Colombia.
They all want a better life for themselves and their families. They all want increased personal safety. They want the ability to travel on their roads and railroads, and in their buses and on their streets, the same as we expect to do in Canada. They have, by and large, been given that by the Uribe government. That is why he has 80% support. That is why we have an anti-free trade political party, the Polo Democratico party in Colombia, with less than 8% support. There is no question about what Colombians think.
I listened to the opposition talk about the welfare of Colombians. I will give just one small example of what this free trade agreement holds for the welfare of Colombians. It may not be important to the members of the Bloc. It may not be important to the members of the NDP, but it is important to me. It is called healthy, nutritious food that is affordable.
Right now, red beans, which are a significant source of protein, are imported into Colombia at 50% tariff. That tariff will be reduced over a 10-year time frame to zero. The reason for the time frame is to assist local farmers in growing red beans themselves, to actually protect local agriculture. Even at the beginning of that time period, I think it is reduced by 20% of 25%, so we have a significant source of protein, healthy food for men, women and children, at an affordable cost, that will do nothing but help Colombians. Somehow that is a bad thing for the opposition parties.
I really have difficulty understanding the logic of what is wrong with rules-based trading. I have difficulty understanding the logic of what is wrong with cheap, affordable, healthy, and nutritious food. I have difficulty understanding what is wrong with Colombia being taken off the ILO's watch list, the first time in 21 years that the United Nations International Labour Organization has said that Colombia has moved forward far enough with respect for labour rights that it will not be on the international watch list.
Instead of applauding that, we have two parties in the House that say, “There is a chance to take a kick at these guys. We will penalize them for good behaviour”. What would happen if we did that in our school system? What kind of children would we raise in this country? It just goes on and on.
