I have a question on the labour and environment agreements in this trade agreement.
These are the strongest labour and environment agreements Canada has ever signed with any other country. They are the strongest labour and environment agreements in any trade agreement between any two sovereign countries. Given that we already have a trading relationship, how can this trade agreement, with such robust labour rights provisions, do anything but help strengthen those areas?
Secondly, I go back to the issue of the drug wars and the narco-economy. The drug lords and the drug gangs aren't governed by any labour code or environmental code or agreement. I can't help but believe that any legitimate economic opportunity that helps displace the reliance that many people of Colombia have on the drug economy will help strengthen both the labour and the environmental conditions.
I would appreciate comments from both of you on those points.