Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to all our witnesses for being here today.
I'd like to start with both of you, Mr. Wilcke and Mr. Vogt, because I think you very correctly pointed out that it's not trade in and of itself that's good or bad, but the kind of trade agreement.
Certainly in Canada, for example, we have experience with what's happened in Mexico. The provisions around NAFTA have led to a demonstrable worsening of conditions for most Mexicans, a meltdown of the rural economy, and a vast increase in drug wars. So how a trade agreement is structured is very, very important.
I'd like to come back to the points you made, Mr. Wilcke, around the labour law. If I am correct in understanding what you were saying, there has only been a symbolic allowing of foreign workers to join a union; they can't participate and vote and have no labour rights except the symbolic right to join a union. Please respond on that.
For both of you, I think the point you're trying to make is that right now there is an opportunity for Canada to learn from what happened in the United States and to really push for compliance with all of those international agreements that have been broken.
Are you not both saying that rather than rubber stamp bad behaviour, what Canada should be doing is enforcing good behaviour and using the leverage of negotiations to put in place a trade agreement that actually helps Jordanian workers?