International Trade Committee on Nov. 22nd, 2011

[Ève Péclet, NDP, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

You worked for the private council office...was it under Brian Mulroney?

[Prof. Ian Lee]

It was the Privy Council Office, to answer your question. However, I was a public servant. I wasn't in the PMO, which is partisan. I was in the PCO, which is non-partisan, and I was recruited through the public service procedures.

[Ève Péclet, NDP, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Okay. My question will go to Mr. Trew now.

You talked about the privatization of water. I would like you to give us some further details on how things are going to work following the opening up of government contracts to European companies.

[Stuart Trew]

Thank you. I am going to reply in English.

This refers to something Mr. Keddy was saying also about water. We could probably have another witness come forward and speak to these issues in particular. Nothing in the trade agreement will force Canadian municipalities to privatize water. I don't think we've been saying that. We have put a report together to suggest that it's what comes after. It's basically the protections for that investment on water services and the need to carve out public water utilities and water services from the agreement.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Merrifield]

Thank you.

Mr. Shory, you have two minutes, and then we'll close.

[Devinder Shory, Conservative, Calgary Northeast, AB]

Mr. Chair, thank you very much. I have several questions and concerns, when talking about transparency.

Mr. Trew, these are all questions for you, by the way. You talked about jurisdictional issues and infringement of municipal rights, basically. Would you suggest that the Council of Canadians is in a better position to speak for Canadians than the democratically elected officials of Canadian municipalities? That's number one.

It appears, I can see, that in some cases the council and you yourself seem to be mouthpieces of the NDP opposition. Everybody knows that the NDP is anti-trade. Aside from the fact that the former NDP trade critic, Peter Julian, was a founding member of the Council of Canadians, I would like your thoughts on some other coincidences I notice.

The Council of Canadians says it is in favour of trade.

[Ève Péclet, NDP, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Ask a question, please.

[Devinder Shory, Conservative, Calgary Northeast, AB]

Calm down.

It asks to scrap this trade agreement, an agreement that would create 80,000 Canadian jobs and boost our economy by $12 billion. You have said in the past that this was a stupid agreement. You said that. So the NDP says it is in favour of the treaty, yet it does not vote for trade when it's time to stand up.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Merrifield]

You had better get to your question.

[Devinder Shory, Conservative, Calgary Northeast, AB]

I'll give you an opportunity to speak in support of the trade, which you claim to support, and I understand it is difficult for you to do that. The question is this. I need to know and the committee needs to hear whether the Council of Canadians supports or opposes jobs and trade.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Merrifield]

Please give a very quick answer.

[Stuart Trew]

We support jobs. We support trade.

Michael Hart actually has called CETA a stupid agreement as well, and he's a pro-free-trader. So I don't think I'm alone in making that comment.

The $12 billion figure you cite, the 80,000 jobs, these figures are contested. These were based on the government study, which was produced by European economists several years ago and has since been I think fairly criticized by Jim Stanford at the CCPA.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Merrifield]

Thank you very much, witnesses, for coming in.

This was a lively debate, I would say, and thank you very much for the questions.

We will call the meeting adjourned.