Bill C-79 (Historical)

Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Implementation Act

An Act to implement the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership between Canada, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam

This enactment implements the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, done at Santiago on March 8, 2018.
The general provisions of the enactment set out rules of interpretation and specify that no recourse is to be taken on the basis of sections 9 to 13 or any order made under those sections, or on the basis of the provisions of the Agreement, without the consent of the Attorney General of Canada.
Part 1 approves the Agreement, provides for the payment by Canada of its share of the expenditures associated with the operation of the institutional and administrative aspects of the Agreement and gives the Governor in Council the power to make orders in accordance with the Agreement.
Part 2 amends certain Acts to bring them into conformity with Canada’s obligations under the Agreement.
Part 3 contains coordinating amendments and the coming into force provision.

Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Implementation Act

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, Carol Hughes]

Before I announce the next speaker, I just want to remind individuals that this is a very passionate debate that is affecting us quite a bit and that people are putting a lot into their comments, but when someone else has the floor, we do expect members to respect that person and not to yell across the floor.

Resuming debate. The hon. member for Perth—Wellington.

[John Nater, Conservative, Perth—Wellington, ON]

Madam Speaker, it is an honour to rise today to debate this important legislation. Conservatives support free trade and expanding our markets. The Conservative record speaks for itself.

During our time in office we negotiated trade deals with 53 countries, including Peru, Colombia, Jordan, Panama, Honduras, South Korea, Ukraine, as well as the original signatories of the trans-Pacific partnership and the 28 countries of the Canada-Europe trade deal.

Conservatives support trade because we know how important it is for our constituents, for our industries, for our agricultural industry and for our Canadian farmers.

I am glad that we are finally debating Bill C-79, but I have to wonder why it has taken so long for the government to finally act on the CPTPP. After all, back in June it was the Conservatives who offered to have the bill fast-tracked at all stages so that Canada could be one of the first countries to ratify the CPTPP.

Back in July, it was our leader, the leader of Her Majesty's loyal opposition, who wrote to the Prime Minister strongly encouraging him to bring back Parliament during the summer so that we could work here to get the bill passed so that all Canadians could enjoy the benefits of this important trade deal. After all, this trade deal was originally negotiated by our government. We have to give credit to those who have done the hard work, the heavy lifting, to get the TPP to the finish line.

[An hon. member]

The member for Abbotsford.

[John Nater, Conservative, Perth—Wellington, ON]

That is right. It was the member for Abbotsford. He worked during an election campaign to ensure that all Canadians would enjoy the benefits of the trans-Pacific partnership.

The very first statement I made in the House, the very first issue I raised in the House in response to the Speech from the Throne, was to encourage the government to ratify the trans-Pacific partnership at the absolute earliest convenience. The government did not do it at the time.

Why is the trans-Pacific partnership important now? We are currently living in an uncertain trading situation. We as Canadians have enjoyed a long and important trading relationship with our friends south of the border. Twenty per cent of our GDP is linked to our trading relationship with our friends in the United States. This year alone, from January to July, $252 billion of our exports went to the United States, representing approximately 75% of our nation's outputs.

Over the summer, like many of my Conservative colleagues, I spoke to many local businesses in my and neighbouring ridings to hear their concerns. The businesses and the people I spoke with are concerned. They are concerned about what tariffs are doing to their businesses. They are concerned about how the costs of the tariffs on steel and aluminum are affecting how they do business. They are concerned about how those costs are being passed on to their consumers and the challenges they are having in negotiating with their suppliers and the terms they are getting with their suppliers.

It is a concern that I hear from small businesses, from farmers and from farm families. I hear it from those in the supply managed sector and those in non-supply managed commodities. My constituents and Canadians across this country are concerned about the uncertainty in the Canada-U.S. relationship and with NAFTA. This is why more than ever we need to be diversifying our markets, which is why when our Conservative government was in office those 53 countries were essential to that progress and why it is now important that we must ratify the CPTPP.

The 11 countries that make up the CPTPP account for a $10 trillion contribution to the global economy, or approximately 13% of the global economy.

As a country, Canada must be one of the first six to ratify this deal so that we can enjoy the benefits of the first-mover countries. We need those benefits. Our farmers, our farm families, our manufacturers, our exporters, our small businesses need to be able to enjoy the benefits associated with the trans-Pacific partnership.

What are some of those benefits? One example is that Australia will eliminate all of its tariffs on agriculture and agri-food products upon the agreement's coming into force, except for one tariff line, which will be eliminated within four years. Some have asked me what that one tariff line is. It is bamboo shoots. For those Canadians who are currently growing bamboo shoots, they will have to wait four years for that to come into force, but I am sure that Canada will have a strong bamboo economy within four years for exports to Australia.

In Perth—Wellington, there is a strong pork industry, a strong beef industry and certainly a strong grains and oil seeds industry. Japan's tariffs are currently up to 20% on pork products, including sausages, and will be eliminated within 10 years. Vietnam has tariffs of up to 27%, which will be eliminated within nine years. For beef, Japanese tariffs of up to 38.5% will be reduced to 9% within 15 years. In Vietnam, tariffs of up to 31% on fresh and chilled frozen beef will be eliminated within two years and tariffs of up to 34% on all other beef products will be eliminated within seven years.

For wheat and barley, Japan will have a specific quota for food wheat of approximately 40,000 tonnes, growing to 53,000 tonnes within six years. We will also have access to CPTPP-wide quota for food barley, which starts at 25,000 tonnes and grows to 65,000 tonnes within eight years. These are the kinds of benefits that Canadian farmers, farm families and exporters can enjoy with an implemented trans-Pacific partnership.

It is not just Conservatives singing the praises of the trans-Pacific partnership and the work that was done by the former Conservative government, but industry leaders within the agriculture industry as well. The Canadian Federation of Agriculture said:

Joining the CPTPP will open unprecedented new markets for Canadian farmers producing export-oriented goods, such as red meats, grains and oil seeds.

When I think of my riding, one of the biggest industries from an agriculture standpoint is the pork industry. The Canadian Pork Council chair stated:

This deal will provide our industry stability in vital markets like Japan and opportunities in emerging markets like Vietnam. Canadian pork producers can rest easy knowing that their livelihood and that of thousands other Canadians in rural and urban communities who work in the pork industry is supported by this newest trade deal.

When the original trans-Pacific partnership was signed, Mark Brock, a constituent of mine, then chair of the Grain Farmers of Ontario, said:

Japan is our largest market for food-grade soybeans, and countries like Malaysia and Vietnam have fast-growing GDPs and are major markets for both food-grade and crush soybeans. With market development a key pillar of our organization, improved access to these important export countries is a great success for our farmer-members.

This is the focus of us in the opposition. This is our focus on the need to expand our markets to ensure that Canadians have access to a growing global market. We need to have access not just for Canadian industries but also for the advancement of all Canadians to ensure that we can enjoy the benefits of up to $20 billion in the next 10 years from the original TPP deal, and yet we see delay after delay in finally getting this deal ratified.

As I mentioned earlier, we offered to have this fast-tracked in June. That was denied. We offered to come back to the House in July to debate this bill during the summer to ensure that we were one of the first six countries to ratify it. That did not happen. We as Conservatives will support trade, we will support good trade deals, and now, more than ever, with the uncertainty south of the border, we need to continue to work hard to diversify our trading relationships to ensure that we access the Asia-Pacific markets for our pork industry, our beef industry, our grains industry, for those farmers, farm families and industry leaders who need that access.

I am very pleased to speak in favour of the trans-Pacific partnership. I hope we will see this pass at second reading quickly, go to committee and return to the House for third reading in the near future.

[Adam Vaughan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families]

Madam Speaker, it is with great interest that I hear the Conservatives suddenly interested in efficiency in the House and moving forward on critical issues that are important to Canada's economy.

I wonder where that efficiency, that desire to get legislation through the House, was last June when there was procedural game after procedural game, 24-hour voting marathons, and all kinds of procedural delays, including adjournment motions. Everything but the order of the country was being dealt with. All we were doing was playing into some sort of dramatic presentation of frustration by a party that has never quite understood that it lost an election. It reminds me of the provincial legislature right now in Ontario that had to be called back to immediately deal with something, only then to sit aside for two days for them to go to a plowing match instead of dealing with the issue the Conservatives thought was so important they had to override the charter.

Is the party opposite turning over a new leaf? Is it now going to start supporting our government's agenda in a coherent way, in a mature way, and start participating in building a stronger country, or is this just another charade?

[John Nater, Conservative, Perth—Wellington, ON]

Madam Speaker, I am proud of the International Plowing Match. I am proud of our strong rural economy. I will have that member know that over 100,000 people attend the International Plowing Match annually. I know the millions of dollars that the IPM has brought into my riding when we hosted it near Harrison a couple of years ago. I know that 100,000 people attended the IPM in my neighbouring riding of Huron—Bruce last year. I know of the importance of our strong rural economy and how much the agricultural sector contributes to that economy.

I will have the member for Spadina—Fort York know that our farmers are the best in the world. They quite literally feed the world, and to hear the condescending attitude of that member towards the agricultural industry, towards the International Plowing Match and all that our farmers and farm families contribute to this world is disgraceful. That member should be ashamed of himself.

[Tracey Ramsey, NDP, Essex, ON]

Madam Speaker, I am quite happy to hear my colleague speak with such passion about farmers, because I also have a passion for the farmers not only in my riding but across Canada. I actually was the winner of the Essex County Ploughing Match this year and I am quite proud of that.

I spent Friday night with families from the supply-managed sector until very late at night in my riding office. They feel betrayed by the CPTPP, by what is on the table in NAFTA, and by what happened with CETA. They see themselves constantly being put on the table. They have a government that continues to bafflegab about protecting them while giving up portions of farm families' market left, right and centre, as though those families cannot see what the government is doing.

Unfortunately, it was the Conservative government that negotiated this deal before, which gives up percentages of supply management. Therefore, while I appreciate that the member speaks passionately about farm families, I would ask him why the farmers in the supply-managed sector are once again under attack in the CPTPP and how he can defend farmers when he will vote for this deal that will harm farm families in Canada.

[John Nater, Conservative, Perth—Wellington, ON]

Madam Speaker, I congratulate the member for Essex for her first place finish in the plowing match. I, unfortunately, got second place this year in the Perth County Plowing Match and so I do have room for improvement next year.

Perth—Wellington has more dairy farmers than any other electoral district in this country, and so I am well aware of the concerns of our dairy industry. In fact, if the member reads the comments of Wally Smith when he was president of the Dairy Farmers of Canada following the original TPP negotiation, he was concerned. He did offer his concerns that there was a market access, but he was supportive of the Conservative government's efforts of the day to defend supply management for a generation. There was a comprehensive package available for farmers, for the industry, to transition.

Going forward, we do have the uncertainty with NAFTA, we do have the uncertainty in the negotiations with President Trump, but in this Conservative Party we have defended supply management since our founding. It is in our policy declaration, and I, as a Canadian, I, as a son-in-law of retired dairy farmers, will stand up for our dairy industry and for those in supply-managed commodities and non-supply-managed commodities because it is in the best interests of our Canadian economy.

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

Madam Speaker, it is great to be talking about trade and TPP, or CPTPP. I call it TPP because it is just easier. Actually, that is really what it is: an agreement that we, the Conservatives, developed, worked on and prepared a letter of intent. We gave it to the Liberals with a bow tied around it, and three years later we are actually going through the process of ratifying it.

I want to give a little history on TPP, exactly how it came about and what the intent was behind it.

If we go back a few years to 2014 and 2015, like-minded countries came together and said that rules needed to be created in the Asia-Pacific region that all countries would follow. It was a way to ensure proper rules were in place so countries like China and India would not bully other smaller economies in that region. This was a chance to do that.

The other thing that was happening was the chance to modernize NAFTA. Canada, the U.S. and Mexico were all part of the original TPP. They were saying that we could take this, add clients in North America, and this would replace and modernize NAFTA. In fact, if we would have done that, we would not be in this quagmire we are today and we would not have this insecurity in our business community. If the Liberals would have taken the TPP in 2015 when they were elected, instead of stalling and delaying, had embraced it with Obama and put it through, we would not be sitting here today talking about NAFTA and the concerns around it. It is frustrating for farmers, forestry workers and people in the mining and manufacturing sectors because it is three years later. They have been through a lot of stress and hardship in those three years.

This deal is great for Saskatchewan. It is great for our agriculture producers. They are the first to tell us that. They will have preferential access to markets in Japan. The fact that the U.S. is no longer involved makes it even better. Our beef producers can go into Japan with lower tariffs than our American competitors. Our grain growers can go into Japan and Asian markets with a competitive advantage over the Americans. The American farmers are fuming about this. They want to be part of this agreement also. However, because of their choices and their leadership, they are not part of this agreement. We are, so it is very important we are part of the first movers in this agreement to take full advantage of this opportunity.

I was in Japan last January and had a chance to sit down with some of our trade commissioners there. They are great people. Whenever I travelled, I tried to ensure I had a day to talk to different trade commissioners and embassies about the challenges and opportunities Canadian businesses had in that part of the world.

The people in Japan are excited. They talk about forestry products, for example. Our forestry sector is doing relatively okay, but, again, it has this cloud of tariffs and lack of market access into the U.S. The Asian market is something new to these people of which they can really take advantage. Our trade commissioner is saying that there is a huge opportunity for them to sell lumber and lumber products into Japan. Again, having that tariff-free access into the market is going to benefit that sector and help pivot away from the U.S. It will provide more security and stability in those communities with lumber as their main occupation.

When we look at the beef producers, Japan has huge trading houses. They do not just trade in Japan; they trade all over Asia. When producers are selling to these trading houses, their product becomes part of the mix in components put out for sale in different areas in Asia. For example, if one is selling beef steaks to go into TV dinners, it will be Canadian beef going across Asia, through these Japanese trading houses, feeding people across Asia. That is an advantage our beef producers will have that our American producers across the line will not.

When we talk about the Japanese business community, it is very loyal. Once someone is involved with the Japanese, once a proper relationship has been established with them, it is almost for life. They want to deal with those people over and over again. All of a sudden price is not the biggest issue anymore. They want quality. They want things we can deliver out of Canada. That is the advantage of having that tariff-free access and being the first mover.

That was why we needed to have this agreement come forward three years ago. It was why we should have had this agreement last spring. It is really disappointing that the Liberals would have rather done marijuana legislation than legislation that would have such a positive impact on our economy across Canada. At least we are here today. I give the government credit for making it the top priority, because we have to provide some stability for our business community and some new markets for them to sell into.

We have to remember that the Liberal government has not been very successful when it comes to trade files, when it comes to foreign policy. When the Liberals said that Canada was back, the reality is that years later we are not back. In fact, we are viewed as something other than what we were in the previous Harper government. This is a chance for us to go back into the marketplace, exert our great products and compete on a level playing field.

When I had round tables this summer, I talked to many manufacturers and agricultural producers. One of the things they talked about was competitiveness. We need to have a debate in the House about competitiveness. We need to really understand what has happened to our sectors and the impact that regulations and taxation like carbon taxes has had on them and their ability to compete, not only in North America but around the world.

When we start imposing taxes and regulations in Canada that shut down our industries, those products are being replaced by products in other parts of the world that do not have the same regulations and taxes. Those products will not have the same environmental benefits we have in Canada. We should be selling more goods, building more things because our environmental standards are so high compared to other regions in the world. We should be exporting like crazy because it is better for the global environment if we do it here than in a third world country.

However, the government wants to penalize our manufacturers and the different sectors. It views them as something bad, but they are our global strength. We should be embracing and working with them to ensure they have all the opportunities to sell their products and goods around the world, not beat them up. The government is doing nothing but beating them up, calling them tax cheats and all different kinds of names, undermining them through tax code changes and lack of consultations. Those things have to stop. Our business community cannot afford it.

When I talk to the business community, I am very scared. Businesses are not talking about expanding in Canada. Any thought of expansion in Canada is on hold. If they are going to expand, it is going to be in Tennessee or elsewhere in the U.S. where there are all sorts of incentives and tax breaks, an environment that actually wants their business, that wants them to grow there. We do not have that atmosphere in Canada anymore. We have an atmosphere where business is viewed as something that is evil. That is wrong and it has to change.

Hopefully the government will understand that by getting a trade agreement it opens up market access. That is really good. However, if we do not give our businesses, companies and farmers a level playing field through taxation and regulation, what good is it? They cannot compete because we have made them uncompetitive. Those are the issues we have to address. The Liberals cannot say that they passed the trade agreement, everything is good and go back and eat Cheerios. The trade agreement is just the first step.

The Liberals need to go to work and help people open up markets. They need to use our trade commissioners and trade services to ensure they understand what markets are available to them. We have to ensure we have EDC and BDC in place to help them expand their operations in Canada to grow the market. We need to help them with business plans in areas where they do not understand how business is done. We have those professionals within the bureaucracy. We need to leverage those professionals and ensure they have the tools to do what they need to do. We have to ensure the business community understands that those tools are there and are available.

This is a good agreement. It has some flaws. One of the biggest flaws is it should have been done three years ago. Having said that, at least we are doing it now.

I want to compliment the Liberal government for at least doing it now. This is the right thing to do. I am glad it is doing it and I look forward to being part of the trade committee to see this move forward. I look forward to going back to my farmers and forestry workers and telling them that we do not know what is going on the in the U.S., that we are not sure what is happening with NAFTA because Liberals will not tell us, that they are secretive, but at least we have fair and good market access into Asia. They can put resources that pivot toward that market to stabilize their businesses and continue to grow in Canada.

I look forward to seeing the vote on this and seeing this passed. I look forward to going back to farmers and forestry workers and telling them that we have given them another tool in their toolbox to be successful.

[Celina Caesar-Chavannes, Liberal, Whitby, ON]

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for agreeing to vote favourably for the bill. He spoke about it being a rough three years for businesses and how this government needed to level the playing field for businesses.

We reduced the tax rate for small business down to 9%. The Canadian small businesses under our government have created over 500,000 good middle-class jobs that have allowed Canadians to succeed. We have created conditions where there is the lowest unemployment in over forty years. We are investing in families. We have invested $350 million in the dairy industry, which he brought up in his speech, $250 million for technology and equipment and $100 million for modernization.

We are making investments that help create a playing field for businesses to do well, but are also creating the conditions to allow them to expand to other markets and grow their businesses successfully.

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

Madam Speaker, the stats sound very impressive. However, when we get into the weeds of those stats and how they actually operate and function, they do not mean anything.

When the businesses come to us saying that they are being taxed more and regulated harder than if they were located in the U.S., that is an issue. Businesses see the huge U.S. tax changes last year. When the government says they are not a problem, but the business community says that it is a huge problem, then we have an issue.

When the government starts calling our business owners tax cheats, we have a problem. When it changes the structure in which business owners operate their businesses so they cannot save for that rainy day or that period of time when there is a downturn in the economy, we have a problem. When it has taken the tools they need to succeed out of their toolbox and then hides them behind some stats and numbers, you have not helped them. You have done more harm than good. That is what you have done as a Liberal government.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, Carol Hughes]

I want to remind the member that he is to address his questions and comments to the Chair. Maybe if he would not use the word “you”, it would be so much easier.

Questions and comments, the hon. member for Essex.

[Tracey Ramsey, NDP, Essex, ON]

Madam Speaker, my colleague is on the trade committee. We have sat there since the election and I have enjoyed our time there. He, like I, spent a very long time travelling with the trade committee across Canada. We heard from over 400 witnesses on the original TPP. There is very little difference between the CPTPP and what was the original TPP. That is certainly true for the Dairy Farmers of Canada, which when it heard the news that we had signed on to the CPTPP, called it “a sombre day” for the 221,000 Canadians who depended on the dairy sector for their livelihood.

The president of the Dairy Farmers of Canada, Pierre Lampron, stated:

On the one hand, the Canadian government has repeatedly stated that it wants a vibrant, strong, and growing dairy sector that creates jobs and fosters investments; on the other hand, it continues to carve out pieces of our domestic dairy market, first through CETA, and now through the CPTPP.

It is interested in another thing, and I will ask of my colleague today. I think we all recognize that the dairy sector is present in a majority of our ridings. This is a huge political conversation we are having. Therefore, the Dairy Farmers of Canada is interesting in hearing how MPs will explain these concessions to the dairy community in Canada. That is my question to the member.

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

Madam Speaker, I appreciate the hard work of the member on the trade committee. We may not agree on some things, but there are quite a few things on which we do agree. It is actually surprising.

When it comes to the dairy sector, it is a tough problem. Basically, supply management is a problem. In every trade negotiation it comes up.

I give the dairy farmers credit. For example, in CETA, basically for the benefit of the country as a whole, they allowed some market access. They agreed to that providing they had appropriate compensation for it. In TPP it was the same thing. They said that they wanted our beef, grain producers and manufacturers to do well, so if that meant they had to give up a bit of market access, providing they were properly compensated and the pillars that were required for supply management were maintained, they would live with it. They did not like it, but they would live with it.

What happened when the Liberals took control? They lost the compensation part of the equation. Now the dairy farmers do not know what that scenario looks like. If the Liberals are saying that they will be there for them, they should tell them what that means, because they do not know. They do not understand. That is a fair question and the Liberals owe them an answer to that question.

[Celina Caesar-Chavannes, Liberal, Whitby, ON]

Madam Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to express my support for Bill C-79, an act to implement the comprehensive and progressive agreement for trans-Pacific partnership between Canada, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. I really do support this piece of legislation, particularly because where I come from in Whitby we have a lot of small businesses. We have a lot of middle-class families that depend on the growth and success of their businesses to be able to provide for their children and to be able to provide for themselves for years to come.

The fact is that the CPTPP allows access to Asia-Pacific markets. It is something that will really benefit not just the people of Whitby or the people of Durham region, but people right across the country.

This particular agreement will open a market to an additional 500 million customers, resulting in 40% of the world economy. This allows us to not be solely reliant on the bulk of our trade going to the United States but opens up those markets and allows our businesses to be able to thrive in other jurisdictions. It is one of the largest free trade agreements in the world with access to a trading bloc of 495 million people, with a combined GDP of over $13.5 trillion. Canadian businesses will get preferential access, market access for our exporters to key markets in the Asia-Pacific region. I think that is critically important.

One of the things that Canadians need to understand about this agreement and one of the things that we want to ensure that Canadians know and Canadian business owners know is that we have full confidence in their ability to grow their businesses and to do well by their customers, and to put forward business plans that allow them to grow. We have seen that over the last three years. We have seen the Canadian economy being the fastest growing in the G7.

Our small businesses have created 500,000 jobs since we have taken office. They are the engine that drives our economy and we are creating even better conditions for them to get their goods and services to market.

We have the lowest unemployment in 40 years. Our middle-class families are seeing and feeling the positive effects of our policies. A family of four right now here in Canada will be receiving $2,000 more in their pockets, so we are seeing the economy doing well. How do we make that better for businesses?

I am going to go back to the previous speaker, who said that it was a tough three years and then he spoke about creating a level playing field for businesses. This government has done that. We reduced the small business tax rate for our businesses down to 9%. We are making sure that there is a level playing field. However, we can and we will do more. We are actively diversifying our trade, which is something that Canadians, when I go to the door in Whitby, are concerned about. They are concerned about NAFTA. They are concerned about steel and aluminum. They want to ensure that this government is taking the steps to not only make things better here on the ground but to also look forward and think how can we make things better. How can we allow our businesses to have access?

I want to talk about a couple of businesses in Whitby specifically. Whitby has a company called Greenwood Mushroom Farm. Not a lot of my riding is rural, but we have a few farms on the north end of the riding and they are really sophisticated, innovative enterprises. Greenwood Mushroom Farm is state-of-the-art facility in north Whitby.

Windmill Farms is the sales, distribution and marketing division of Greenwood Mushroom Farm, one of the largest mushroom-producing companies in Canada. It was built in the early 1960s. It has grown. They have made massive investments, ensuring that they are innovative and staying top-of-the-line. Going through the facility, there is no smell. They have a state-of-the-art compost facility. It is actually remarkable, and I would invite anybody to come to Whitby to tour this fantastic farm.

The reason that I bring up the Greenwood Mushroom Farm, and I could bring up any number of farms in Whitby, is because of the benefits we see for agriculture and agri-food products through the CPTPP. They will benefit from immediate, duty-free treatment of tariffs on many products, to be phased out gradually. This will create, of course, new market opportunities, not just for vegetables and fruits but for other Canadian agriculture and agri-food products, beef and pork, cereals, maple syrup, spirits and a wide range of goods.

I know the owners and people who work at Greenwood Mushroom Farms would appreciate the fact that we are looking at different ways for them to sell their products globally in a competitive way.

Again, this goes back to who is within these organizations. This is not some arbitrary company that is trying to grow. These are Canadian families. These are middle-class families that are trying to do the best they can to work at an organization, to stay competitive, to be able to expand and grow, and do what they need to do for their families.

I would also like to talk about the technology industry. I think many people will be surprised to hear this. In Whitby, we have a number of thriving businesses in our downtown core. We are having an immense revitalization of our downtown. It is becoming a place where people want to hang out. We no longer go to Toronto; we stay in Whitby. There are things to eat and drink, and activities for families. People like to be downtown.

It has the ability to be a place where people live, work and play. There is no longer the need, or we are creating what is no longer the need, for people to go to Toronto to go to work. We have companies like geekspeak that do global work, and companies like 360insights that work in international markets.

Our tech industries are really supportive of the CPTPP, more than the TPP, because of the provisions we negotiated in intellectual property. These are companies of middle-class families. I actually knocked on the doors of the owners of geekspeak. I have seen their children. I know who they are. They want to be able to provide the services that they have taken from a little idea in a basement to a thriving enterprise within downtown Whitby, and to then take it to beyond the global enterprise that they currently have.

It is critically important to understand that our companies want to be able to grow and succeed, and we are giving them the access to do that. We are creating the conditions by which they will be able to grow and succeed.

I would be remiss if I did not speak about the auto sector in Durham region. We have heard from many colleagues in here about the auto sector, and the challenges with NAFTA, with steel, with aluminum. The diversification of our products, goods and services to Asia-Pacific markets will help.

Right now most of our trade goes to the United States. The opportunity to have that go to a market of close to 500 million people will really impact our businesses in a positive way. We have confidence in our businesses. We have confidence in our small businesses. We have created the conditions domestically for them to succeed. We are now creating the conditions for them to succeed internationally.