Thank you, Chair.
I'd like to thank our guests for their important testimony. I'd also like to acknowledge that Mr. Keddy is quite correct that we already do $1.35 billion in two-way trade. We're really establishing a rules-based system with effective labour environment side agreements.
Mr. Rowlinson, I appreciate your acknowledgment that the labour side agreement is better--or greater and substantive, to quote you. So thank you for that, which we'll now enter into your testimony.
It's rather interesting that since President Uribe came into power in 2001--and again, let's not be lost in this--murders have been reduced by half, kidnappings by 85%, and union leader murders by 86%. These are from independent groups. And labour union numbers have increased dramatically, as has participation within unions.
I agree, in terms of what I sense from all the testimony here today, that we're all trying to do the right thing by Colombia--and, by the way, lest we forget, for Canada as well. I think that's very compelling. You can always look at the glass as being half one way or half another. I tend to be more optimistic and think that free trade agreements allow us the opportunity to have a better dialogue with our neighbours.
When I was looking at the total imports and exports of Israel, I noted that when you combine the two-way trade, it's up over the last five years. When I look at the total trade of Costa Rica and China, we're marginally up in Costa Rica. When I look at Chile, it's rather interesting that five years ago our total exports were $417 million and they're now $644 million.
That's from the Library of Parliament, if anyone wants to challenge those statistics.