I am tempted to answer Mr. Keddy in this way: if the members of the government of Colombia are as pure and good as he claims, how come they are unable to prevent the murders of trade unionists, the displacement of populations and the violations of human rights? I find it somewhat strange to hear this government being described as being made up of people of good faith when we see those totally unacceptable things happening in Colombia.
Let me also make a comment about the question put to Mrs. Pickard by Mr. Cannis who asked if you have ever supported a free trade agreement. As far as I am concerned, that is irrelevant. Whether or not you supported previous trade agreements does not concern me because I was not there. However, I need to hear from people who were there on the ground, people who observe the consequences of a free trade agreement.
In closing, I want to make a brief comment for Mr. Holder. You gave us a list of some groups supporting the Canada-Colombia free trade agreement but you might be able to get even more support — and perhaps even the support of other opposition parties — if you were to accept, as the committee did originally, an independent assessment of the true human rights situation in Colombia before the ratification of the agreement. Our opposition is due to the fact that we are violating a previous all-party agreement.