Thank you once again, Mr. Chair.
We on this side understand that this CETA agreement with the EU will be of enormous benefit to Canadians. Of course, we also understand that the opposition NDP has to look after some special interest groups, and they are doing their job. At the same time, it was amazing to hear the minister talk about 80,000 new jobs and a $12 billion increase to trade. He also mentioned that an average Canadian family will have $1,000 extra income.
Also, I agree with the minister that free trade is a kitchen table issue. And I had to ask him the question of how he gets these things done, unlike in the past. Anyway, the record shows that in these last six years, our Conservative government has signed nine free trade agreements. As the minister mentioned, and as I'm sure you are also aware, we are in negotiations with so many other countries, which proves that we understand.
Mr. Chair, the government has set a target to sign the CETA agreement with the European Union by 2012. Number one, is this timeline achievable? And also, for the benefit of my friends across the table, does our Conservative government have a mandate to sign these agreements?