Thank you, Mr. Chair. I want to thank Alex Neve for being here and Amnesty for their work.
I want to state for the record that part of the reason you are here today is that I spoke with the chair about inviting Amnesty. I thought it was important to hear from you. I think Amnesty has always provided important information for our committees.
I must say that I have some concerns about this deal. I also have concerns about human rights. I know there are those who like to frame this as a contest between those who care about human rights and those who don't. I don't think that's fair, because I think every one of us cares about human rights.
It's a question of how we deal with issues of human rights and how we proceed with the deal before us. I must congratulate your secretary general, Irene Khan, for making poverty the greatest human rights violation. I think poverty is such an important issue. It is within the context of poverty that I look to see whether trade deals will improve people's lives or not.
You have stated that you're not asking us not to trade with Colombia. This trade deal covers only about 20% of the things we don't trade. About 80% of things we already trade with Colombia would have happened whether we had this agreement or not. Your concern is whether, in light of what is happening on the ground, we want to go further into a trading relationship with Colombia.
I have made statements in the past, and I want to make sure that my statements are clear. What I have said is based on my relationship with people in Colombia—I've gone there three times—and with the large Colombian community in my riding. I have said the situation has improved under Uribe's government. I should have said that the situation has improved within the cities, because the people I have spoken to have been mainly from the Bogotá region. In that context, I would say that they have told me that the situation has improved.
I take seriously the comments you have made about other areas that I'm not as familiar with. I think it's important for all of us to get a better handle on it. I agree that it would be a good idea to get an assessment of the human rights situation. But how would we get an independent human rights assessment, given that most people have already adopted a position on the deal? This is a challenge. It's a good suggestion, but how would you do it? If you bring labour, they've already taken a position. The government has already taken a position. How would you bring it together?