Thank you, Mr. Chair.
By definition, parallel lines never meet. So, if these are parallel agreements, there is less chance that there can be consensus on trade, labour rights and environmental rights. There is no point in concealing the fact; people are interested in investing overseas because there is an advantage for them in doing so, whether it is that labour costs are much lower or that environmental standards are often much less strict. There are also the raw materials, which brings me back to the mines, and to the idea of responsibility.
Let me give you a very quick little example. The Canadian mining company Barrick Gold is currently operating two huge projects high in the mountains where gold is extracted by cyanide lixiviation. This means that from 110 to 200 litres per second of cyanide-bearing liquid are pumped into glaciers in order to extract gold. We know what that can mean. Just one project, and there are others, covers an area of 3000 km². The mining company has managed to obtain all the necessary permits, except, of course, the one allowing it to dissolve the glaciers.
So I believe that companies must show social and environmental responsibility. I chose a mining company as an example because the case is so flagrant. In environmental matters, Canada has a responsibility that it must not leave to companies mining in foreign countries to determine. This has to be studied in the overall context of a free-trade agreement.
We in the Bloc Québécois prefer multilateral approaches to bilateral ones, but we also agree with doing business. So these agreements must be improved. I know that my colleague wants to talk to you about a concern of his, so I will yield the floor to him.