Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'll move first the motion on the apparel industry:
The Committee calls on the government of Canada to stem the current market disruption, in specific categories, in the Canadian apparel industry, by immediately invoking Article 242 of China's accession protocol to the WTO and putting in place restrictions or safeguards on the growth of specific categories of apparel imports from China.
I don't think there will be much debate or disagreement with this. We've had 50,000 jobs lost in the last four years. I'm not as eloquent as Mr. Menzies is on this particular issue, so I'll just read his words into the record, because I know he stands by them.
In reference specifically to safeguards, he said on November 8, 2005:
A Conservative government would stand up for Canadian workers and work proactively through international trade policies to ensure Canada competes on a level playing field.
And the official opposition at that time, the Conservative caucus, including leader Stephen Harper, supported a motion in Parliament on February 8, 2005, which called on the federal government to negotiate safeguards with the Chinese government, implement measures to encourage the use of Quebec and Canadian-made textiles, and to create programs to support older workers in the industry.
Mr. Menzies was absolutely right. I agree with him completely. It's nice when we can get all-party agreement on these things. He said it extremely eloquently. Mr. Chair, given his eloquent words, I cannot but agree with him, and I hope that all members would support this motion.