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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 bill is from the 42nd Parliament, 1st session, which ended in September 2019.

Sponsor

Status

This bill has received Royal Assent and is now law.

Summary

This is from the published bill.

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.

Elsewhere

All sorts of information on this bill is available at LEGISinfo, an excellent resource from Parliament. You can also read the full text of the bill.

Bill numbers are reused for different bills each new session. Perhaps you were looking for one of these other C-79s:

C-79 (2024) Law Appropriation Act No. 4, 2024-25
C-79 (2005) An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act (third party election advertising)

Votes

Oct. 16, 2018 Passed 3rd reading and adoption of 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
Oct. 3, 2018 Passed Concurrence at report stage of 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
Oct. 3, 2018 Failed 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 (report stage amendment)
Oct. 3, 2018 Failed 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 (report stage amendment)
Oct. 3, 2018 Passed Time allocation 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
Sept. 18, 2018 Passed 2nd reading of 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
Sept. 18, 2018 Failed 2nd reading of 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 (reasoned amendment)
Sept. 18, 2018 Passed Time allocation 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

Bill C-79—Second ReadingComprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Implementation ActGovernment Orders

September 18th, 2018 / 11:15 a.m.

Liberal

Randy Boissonnault Liberal Edmonton Centre, AB

Mr. Speaker, as our government has said and will continue to say, the environment and the economy go hand in hand. That is why we have worked hard with member nations in this agreement and in others to ensure high environmental standards. In the case of CPTPP, as I mentioned, there are exemptions in Canada for culture, labour and environmental considerations.

As it pertains to this agreement, this is about opening up markets to half a billion of the world's consumers and making sure Canadian businesses can compete on the global stage.

We take our environmental responsibilities very seriously here at home and abroad, and we will continue to do so.

Bill C-79—Second ReadingComprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Implementation ActGovernment Orders

September 18th, 2018 / 11:20 a.m.

Liberal

Darrell Samson Liberal Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS

Mr. Speaker, as we settle back into our roles here in the House, I thank my colleague for his pointed and passionate speech, which is reminiscent of the speeches he made over the past three years.

I would like my colleague to expand on the CPTPP. Canada is getting $4.8 billion in GDP per year from it. This is enormous. He knows, as I do, that Canada is one of the richest countries in the world when it comes to natural resources. This is a major agreement that would benefit Canadians from coast to coast to coast. I would like him to share how he sees the different industries in Canada benefiting from the agreement and how the middle class would benefit from jobs, opportunities and access to markets.

Bill C-79—Second ReadingComprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Implementation ActGovernment Orders

September 18th, 2018 / 11:20 a.m.

Liberal

Randy Boissonnault Liberal Edmonton Centre, AB

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his passion, which has not diminished over three years. It is an important opportunity to mention that all of the provisions of the CPTPP would benefit small and medium-sized enterprises. We know they represent well over 95% of businesses and job creation in the country.

The fish and seafood provision alone would eliminate 100% of tariffs on Canadian fish and seafood products. We know what that means to fishers coast to coast to coast who are trying to export their goods around the world. CPTPP is good for them and middle-class families.

Bill C-79—Second ReadingComprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Implementation ActGovernment Orders

September 18th, 2018 / 11:20 a.m.

Conservative

Luc Berthold Conservative Mégantic—L'Érable, QC

Mr. Speaker, we wanted to have an emergency session in July on Bill C-79, but the government refused our proposal. Why?

Bill C-79—Second ReadingComprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Implementation ActGovernment Orders

September 18th, 2018 / 11:20 a.m.

Liberal

Randy Boissonnault Liberal Edmonton Centre, AB

Mr. Speaker, the answer is simple: we are debating the CPTPP now. It is good for Canadians, for the middle class, for economic growth and for job creation. We are doing the work today. That is what we promised and what we are going to do.

Bill C-79—Second ReadingComprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Implementation ActGovernment Orders

September 18th, 2018 / 11:20 a.m.

Liberal

Linda Lapointe Liberal Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today as the proud member for Rivière-des-Mille-Îles.

The trans-Pacific partnership is a very important agreement. As the member for Edmonton Centre said earlier, Bill C-79 is historically significant. It opens up a new market of 500 million consumers. This will help SMEs and create jobs for the middle class. It is something that is very important to me.

For two and a half years I was a member of the Standing Committee on International Trade, where we studied this agreement. We visited this country from coast to coast, meeting people in many towns and cities in every province. We wanted to give everyone a chance to have their say on this very important matter. We also met with many representatives from the labour movement, civil society, business associations and chambers of commerce. We were also the first committee to have open-mike meetings so that everyone would have a chance to speak, and we certainly took their comments into consideration.

Let us think about it: eleven countries, namely Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam managed to come together to reach such an important agreement. We are opening up access to these markets and that is very important. We already have a free trade agreement with Europe, we will have one with Asia-Pacific countries, and we are currently negotiating to open up markets. With all these free trade agreements, Canada will be well positioned to grow the middle class and create good jobs for our SMEs.

I am very pleased to talk about the CPTPP and the positive impact it will have on businesses in Canada's industrial and manufacturing sectors.

My riding is a suburb north of Montreal with a huge number of SMEs and businesses that work in the aerospace, agri-food, and food processing sectors. These sectors produce a wide range of products across the country from cars to medical equipment, metals, chemical products and plastics. They are key components of our country's economy that employ 1.7 million highly qualified Canadians full time and account for nearly 11% of Canada's GDP.

Our government firmly believes that the CPTPP is an ideal agreement for Canadians and for our economy. This is a top-notch trade agreement that will help increase Canadian exports.

As a cornerstone of our government's comprehensive effort to enhance Canada's engagement with the dynamic, fast growing and increasingly influential Asian markets, it is an important part of our commitment to diversify trade, grow our economy and strengthen our country's middle class. Trade and investment flows between Canada and Asian economies have increased significantly since the turn of the century. From 2014 to 2016, Canada's exports of industrial and manufactured goods to CPTPP countries accounted for an annual average of $22.4 billion.

By eliminating nearly 100% of tariffs on manufactured goods, including some tariffs that are as high as 85%, and creating mechanisms to address non-tariff barriers to trade, the CPTPP would create opportunities for world-class Canadian businesses to increase their sales. Once the agreement enters into force, it will enable Canadian exporters to access diverse and internationally integrated value chains. On day one of the agreement's coming into force, there will be no tariffs on over 87% of industrial tariff lines covering Canadian exports to CPTPP markets worth an annual average of $19.5 billion from 2015 to 2017.

What does this mean for our industries? Allow me to provide a few examples.

For Canada's multi-billion dollar chemicals and plastics industry, the CPTPP will provide opportunities for companies, from those in Ontario, the hub of Canada's plastics industry, to cutting-edge chemical facilities in Alberta. With improved market access from the elimination of tariffs of as high as 50%, this industry will increase its annual average of $1.1 billion in exports to CPTPP markets.

With respect to metals and minerals, a sector contributing nearly 600,000 jobs across Canada and exporting $5 billion in goods to CPTPP markets, the agreement will result in the elimination of all tariffs, some as high as 50%. As a result, highly sought-after Canadian aluminum, steel, iron, petroleum products and precious metals will become even more competitive in such markets as Japan, Australia, Malaysia and Vietnam.

Canada's information and communication technologies sector, critical to major urban centres across Canada, is also well positioned under the CPTPP to meet growing needs within established and developing markets in the Asia-Pacific. In addition to eliminating tariffs, the agreement will protect companies from having to divulge their proprietary information in order to sell their products in CPTPP markets.

Our government listened to what Canadians had to say about the auto industry and made their concerns a priority. As part of the CPTPP negotiations, Canada obtained bilateral side letters from Australia and Malaysia in order to establish more liberal rules of origin, which would allow our automobile manufacturers to benefit from preferential tariff treatment on those markets without having to change their existing production models. We also reached bilateral agreements with Japan and Malaysia regarding standards and regulations in the automobile industry, a key demand of industry stakeholders.

Those are just a few examples of the industries that could benefit from the CPTPP. By making Canada's industrial and manufacturing exports more competitive and by cutting the red tape that hinders access to dynamic, growing markets, the CPTPP will give Canadian businesses significant opportunities to increase their profits and create new quality jobs for the middle class.

Beyond tariff reduction, another aspect of the CPTPP that stands to benefit Canadian companies in these sectors is in the area of intellectual property. The CPTPP's provisions on intellectual property cover virtually all areas of trade and IP, including copyright, patents, trademarks, geographical indication, industrial designs, domain names, and enforcement. Most importantly, the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights will help protect Canadian innovation and investment as our businesses trade abroad. For many Canadian businesses, one of the most significant barriers to trade in some markets is uncertainty over the protection of intellectual property, including whether their intellectual property rights will be respected and enforced.

As a result, innovative Canadian businesses will be better able to market their products on the established, rapidly expanding Asian markets.

Beyond tariff reduction and intellectual property rules, the CPTPP also addresses the costly non-tariff obstacles preventing Canadian companies from entering foreign markets. All CPTPP members have committed to eliminating restrictive red tape in sectors such as cosmetics, medical instruments, pharmaceuticals, and ICTs, and this will give Canadian manufacturing exporters greater certainty and predictability with the competitive advantages they have gained.

The CPTPP marks a very important step in the history of trade in Canada. This agreement will be instrumental in diversifying our markets and promoting economic prosperity here at home. By establishing an effective, transparent, rule-based trade system with one of the most dynamic and fastest growing regions in the world, the CPTPP will open up new possibilities for exporters in our industrial and manufacturing sectors.

I also want to point out that we secured a cultural exception, which is very important for Quebec and for official languages.

Bill C-79—Second ReadingComprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Implementation ActGovernment Orders

September 18th, 2018 / 11:30 a.m.

NDP

Fin Donnelly NDP Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC

Mr. Speaker, studies show that up to 60,000 jobs could be lost due to the CPTPP.

The economic analysis conducted by the government concludes that the CPTPP would generate economic gains for Canada of about $4.2 billion over 22 years. The $4.2 billion represents the same level of economic output in terms of GDP, gross domestic product, that Canada generates in one day.

Could the member tell us why the government insists on pushing through this deal with such limited gains, a deal that poses grave dangers to labour standards, the environment, manufacturing, and supply-managed sectors?

Bill C-79—Second ReadingComprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Implementation ActGovernment Orders

September 18th, 2018 / 11:30 a.m.

Liberal

Linda Lapointe Liberal Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question.

I was always a bit surprised when I was a member of the Standing Committee on International Trade. We often asked the New Democrats if there was any free trade deal they supported. We have created 500,000 jobs since we took office three years ago in 2015. That is a lot. We have not seen this sort of employment situation for 40 years. I am still at a bit of a loss.

Is there any free trade agreement in the world that the NDP supports?

Bill C-79—Second ReadingComprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Implementation ActGovernment Orders

September 18th, 2018 / 11:30 a.m.

Conservative

Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB

Mr. Speaker, one of the exciting things about this trade agreement is that it strengthens our relationship with a key partner in the Pacific, Japan.

Japan has a great need for a secure supply of energy. It imports the vast majority of its energy resources, much of it coming from the Middle East through the South China Sea. In particular, strengthening our energy relationship with Japan presents a great opportunity for deepening our economic and other relationship with Japan.

So much of the potential of this trade agreement to increase our commercial ties with Asia depends on our ability to get our resources to market. Specifically, we have seen, over the summer, the failure of the government when it comes to actually proceeding with a pipeline it had promised and that would have allowed us to do better at accessing Asian markets for our energy resources.

Could the member explain to me why the government decided to buy the pipeline with no plan to actually get it built? Given that we are in support of this trade agreement, what is the government's plan to actually proceed with the critical infrastructure for getting our energy resources to the west coast that would allow us to benefit from some of these opportunities?

Bill C-79—Second ReadingComprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Implementation ActGovernment Orders

September 18th, 2018 / 11:35 a.m.

Liberal

Linda Lapointe Liberal Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question. He talked about Japan and so I will too.

One thing that often came up when the international trade committee was examining the trans-Pacific partnership was that Japan was so happy to know that we would have an agreement on fish and seafood coming from the Maritimes and the Pacific. The Japanese are pleased to know that they will be able to buy these products without tariffs. There will be an increase in exports of lobster, fish, snow crab and oysters, foods that people in Japan love to eat.

I want to assure my colleagues that we are going to do everything in our power to ensure that our natural resources reach Asia.

Bill C-79—Second ReadingComprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Implementation ActGovernment Orders

September 18th, 2018 / 11:35 a.m.

NDP

Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC

Mr. Speaker, as we know, the Liberal government is very big on consultation. It does consultation and at the end of the process, if the consultation is not in agreement with the government's position, it will just go ahead and do whatever it wants anyway. We saw this with electoral reform.

In this instance, the Liberal government promised it would do consultation. Not only did it not do meaningful consultation, it passed the buck over to the committee. The committee did some work on this and 95% of the submissions to the committee were against this deal. Why is the government pushing ahead, given that the limited consultation done by the committee indicated the public did not support the deal?

Bill C-79—Second ReadingComprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Implementation ActGovernment Orders

September 18th, 2018 / 11:35 a.m.

Liberal

Linda Lapointe Liberal Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC

Mr. Speaker, we were the first committee to travel across Canada and hold open-mike meetings. Yes, we listened to Canadians. Yes, Canadians are happy. We have created 500,000 jobs since 2015. Opening up the market in Asia, which represents 500 million consumers, and the market in Europe as we did is unprecedented. It goes without saying that opening these markets will result in more middle-class jobs. In my riding of Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, SMEs will benefit on the export side.

Bill C-79—Second ReadingComprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Implementation ActGovernment Orders

September 18th, 2018 / 11:35 a.m.

The Assistant Deputy Speaker Anthony Rota

Before we continue, I want to remind everyone that when someone is asking or answering a question, it is their time. I know the summer has gone by. We were wonderful in June when we left, but we seem to have forgotten the rules. Again, I want to remind everyone that when someone is answering or asking a question, it is not appropriate to heckle across the aisle.

The hon. member for Mégantic—L'Érable.

Bill C-79—Second ReadingComprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Implementation ActGovernment Orders

September 18th, 2018 / 11:35 a.m.

Conservative

Luc Berthold Conservative Mégantic—L'Érable, QC

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government has finally seen the light and understands how important it is to quickly ratify the CPTPP.

At long last, Canada may soon ratify the agreement reached in 2015. We hope this will happen quickly. Members will recall that the CPTPP was one of the Prime Minister's first missteps on the international stage. I would like to quote a few articles, including this one:

Prime Minister a no-show at meeting.”

I would like to give the House a quick reminder of what happened.

“Ten leaders from countries remaining in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) were left “red-faced” by Canadian Prime Minister...when he did not turn up at a TPP-11 leaders meeting.”

Here is some of the reaction:

Shinzo Abe announced that “the signing was off” because the Prime Minister would not attend.

Steve Ciobo called it a 'disappointing development'.

Some ministers said that the Prime Minister got “cold feet” because of looming elections in Quebec.

What motivates this party's actions? Not the national economy. The answer is political trends and partisanship. Why do I think that? Because when the other countries reached an agreement last spring, we could have made short work of Bill C-79 here in the House. The government could have introduced Bill C-79 back in May, and we could have started working on it then. Had that been the case, we would already have ratified the agreement, and we would have been one of the first six countries to do so. However, the government sat on the bill until the last week before the break, at which point it was too late to start working on it.

The official opposition moved two motions for the unanimous consent of the House to get on with studying the bill quickly and adopting it as written. Obviously, that did not happen. Now the government says it is going to act fast. I just do not get it. This has all been such a disappointment. Anyway, if the past is any indication, we know that they do not always walk the talk.

I have a lot more to say about this, but I will not have enough time because I am sharing my time with the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan. He has a lot to say about Bill C-79 too.

Our leader, the Leader of the Opposition, sent a letter to the Prime Minister this summer, asking him to act more quickly so that we would not miss the opportunity to be among the first six countries to sign the CPTPP.

I would now like to read a few excerpts from the letter our leader sent to the Prime Minister. I think it is important that Canadians know where we stood at the time and why we were asking him to act quickly.

These actions by the United States threaten the jobs and livelihoods of thousands of Canadians. This is even more worrying given the U.S. government's repeated threats to impose 25% tariffs on the auto sector. On this file, Canada's Conservatives' most pressing priority is to protect Canadian jobs and industry by having tariffs removed from Canadian steel and aluminium and by stopping new tariffs from being imposed.

The same is true today. He also wrote:

Conservatives have always supported diversifying our trading relationships around the world, which is why the previous Conservative government had the foresight to conclude free trade negotiations and investment agreements with 53 countries, including the countries of the original trans-Pacific partnership and the 28 countries of CETA, which concluded in 2014.

Our leader continued:

...it is even more urgent that we act to expand and diversify our trading relationships.

That is why he called on the Prime Minister to:

...request that the Speaker recall the House of Commons pursuant to Standing Order 28(3) as soon as possible this summer [exceptionally] to debate and pass Bill C-79, the comprehensive and progressive agreement for trans-Pacific partnership implementation act.

The leader cited the Peterson Institute for International Economics which:

...estimated that the original TPP, which was negotiated and concluded by the previous Conservative government, would boost Canadian income by $20 billion over the next decade.

This request was flatly rejected by the government. We do not understand why.

We were ready to get to work and spend part of the summer ensuring that this bill is passed as soon as possible. Why it is so important for us to be among the first six countries? It is simple. It is because after the first six signatures, after six countries enshrine the agreement, the CPTPP comes into effect within 60 days. If we are not there during that time, all the good agreements for exporting and importing with those countries will already have been concluded with the first six signatory countries. Canada will be left with crumbs.

The last one to arrive at the table in a large family gets whatever is left and often that is nothing at all. That is why we think it is absolutely urgent and necessary to ratify the CPTPP quickly.

We will obviously work with the government to adopt the CPTPP as quickly as possible, because it is important to our industry and to farmers. The Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance held two press conferences. They held a press conference and send out a press release to explain why we must adopt the CPTPP as quickly as possible. According to research commissioned by the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance, this trade pact could increase Canadian agri-food exports by nearly $2 billion annually for a variety of agriculture products including beef, pork, grains, canola, pulses, soybeans, barley, sugar, and processed foods.

That is the reality. We are talking about the economy. Canadian jobs will be in jeopardy if we do not move fast enough. We are deeply disappointed that the government took too long to finally grasp how important it was to sign the CPTPP as quickly as possible.

I hope the government finally gets it, for the sake of the people who produce these agriculture products, including beef, pork, grains, canola, pulses, soybeans, barley, sugar and processed foods.

I would like to move on to another sector covered by the agreement that is raising some serious concerns. I am referring to the supply management sector. The agreement requires Canada to make concessions on supply management. Under the old agreement, the previous Conservative government foresaw that there would be consequences for producers in supply-managed sectors. That was why we instituted a 10-year compensation plan.

The compensation plan provided up to $4 billion for producers in supply-managed sectors. We created it because we felt it was important to recognize that even though we had succeeded in negotiating a global economic agreement that was good for Canada, we had had to sacrifice part of the supply management quota, and producers deserved to be compensated accordingly. We allocated $4 billion, including $450 million for facility upgrades.

The response of the current government has been to offer no compensation program whatsoever. No wonder people are worried today. No announcements have been made on this subject, and no empathy has been shown towards producers in supply-managed sectors, even though they have willingly sacrificed part of their quotas for the good of the Canadian economy.

The government created a little $350-million program to modernize farms and support processors. The Conservatives' plan allocated $450 million, in addition to more than $3 billion to protect quotas and offset the losses that supply-managed farmers could experience once the TPP is implemented.

In short, the official opposition will support ratifying the CPTPP as quickly as possible, because this agreement is important to our economy. Once again, I hope that the Liberal government will not screw this up come signing time, and I hope that everyone will be there. I hope that we do not end up being a laughingstock on the world stage.

Bill C-79—Second ReadingComprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Implementation ActGovernment Orders

September 18th, 2018 / 11:45 a.m.

Liberal

Darrell Samson Liberal Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech. He is always very enthusiastic, and I appreciate that. I want to welcome him back. This is so important.

I do want to point out that just three countries have ratified the agreement so far. Six countries must do so before the agreement can come into force. We are moving quickly right now, so Canada should make the list and not end up seventh among the four, five, or six major countries. I would like to hear the member's thoughts on the middle class and small businesses.

Does he think that Canadians, across the country, small businesses, and the middle class will benefit from this agreement that will bring in $4.2 billion in its first year?