Yes. I wanted to acknowledge two points.
I think the importance of corporate social responsibility was raised. I'm not suggesting by any means that Canadian companies in operation abroad don't try to adhere to good measures and good behaviour, but the measures are still voluntary. In the context of the trade agreement, protecting investment is not voluntary. It's a core element of the agreement and it has teeth and retaliatory measures should those provisions not be adhered to.
I would agree with Shirley-Ann George about the importance of multilateral negotiations. They provide us with common rules around the globe as to how we're going to treat each other, and they have far better value because of the weight of other countries that are brought into the process. That always should be appreciated.
The last point I would make, and this is only because I spent a lot of time in the Americas as part of my responsibility, is that there is a degree of respect for our country, both in the Americas and in the Caribbean, that is yet to be appreciated, whether by this government or by previous governments. I think we do this on a continuous basis, treat the Americas as a relationship that we can take for granted. I do believe that as a country we have far more interests in the Americas because they're our neighbouring region, and the degree of respect that we have in the Americas ought to be treated with a lot of respect.
Most of the challenges that the smaller economies face in the Americas have to do, of course, with the devastation of poverty, which was the result of the structural adjustment programs that were imposed on these countries. This has essentially crippled them financially, and now, as they're trying to get themselves out, there's a recognition by the World Bank and other financial institutions that they have to take a different approach, and we have to bear that in mind.
There's no question that in terms of what we do in trading relationships, we need to ensure that we're not damaging our relationship with these countries, that we're enhancing our relationship with these countries. Canada needs to spend more attention and resources in the Americas than in any region, because there's a degree of respect we have that we can benefit from. This respect comes from our long interest in providing sanctuary to countries when people were under tremendous military occupation as well as the fact that we were not an interventionist force in the region.
I would hope in this committee's deliberations there will be some recognition about the things we can do to enhance our relationship with the Americas, not simply to treat it as though it's all going to revolve around trade. Trade is only one part of our relationship. Our human capacity to connect with each other is much greater, and Canada needs to be investing more in that relationship than in any other relationship.
Thank you so much.