I think this regulatory harmonization issue is really important. Let's call it what it is and dispense with the Orwellian term of “cooperation”, because I think what this does is go well beyond it in certain places. If it is about recognition, or mutual recognition of standards, let's see the mutual recognition agreements. These agreements are incredibly difficult to negotiate.
Regulation is a vital function of parliamentarians. It's been defined as a subordinate form of legislation or a delegated form of legislation.
My concern on the sovereignty question is that, over time, the room to manoeuvre gets narrower and narrower, and at a certain point we realize we don't have the ability to regulate or legislate in the best interest of the country as determined by, for example, our health regulators or our environmental regulators. It's a real concern for me.
It's doubly concerning because of what we're regulating to, especially with the current administration in Washington, which has embarked on a very aggressive deregulation initiative of gutted air standards. I could go through a long list of regulations they have either weakened or eliminated, regulatory capacity that they've reduced.... I worry that this is a form of importing a deregulation agenda south of the border.