I will read this out, Mr. Chair.
I move that Bill C-46, in clause 12, be amended by adding, after line 18 on page 4, the following: “(1.1) The Minister shall(a) consult with independent experts on human rights and independent human rights organizations in order to assess the impact of the implementation of the Agreement on human rights in Canada and in the Republic of Panama; and (b) within 60 days after this Act comes into force, cause to be laid before each House of Parliament a report on that assessment that includes the findings and recommendations of those experts and organizations or, if that House is not then sitting, on any of the first five days next thereafter that that House is sitting.”
Of course, there have been issues with this in Panama. We are talking about union rights, which are also human rights, rights that the Panamanian government scoffed at this spring.
Instead of saying that everything is fine, we need to put an assessment process in place and ensure that independent experts are the ones doing the assessment. We do not want to duplicate what is in the agreement with Colombia, where the Colombian government gets to decide how it will report to Canada's Parliament.
We need independent experts. We have always said that. The purpose of this amendment is to ensure that independent experts conduct consultations and that their assessment report is submitted to Parliament.