Yes, Mr. Chairman, I have two motions for the committee.
I'm concerned about running out of time at the end of the meeting, so I'm going to move one of the motions now and then one at the end of the meeting. The motion I'm going to move right now is:
That, notwithstanding any previous order adopted by the-Committee, the Standing Committee on International Trade invite the Minister of International Trade to provide a comprehensive briefing on the negotiations towards the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with the European Union before Friday, December 14, 2012.
I'll just speak very briefly to the motion, Mr. Chairman.
We of course are running out of time in this committee. We only have next week. The minister has said on a number of occasions that he hopes to have an agreement concluded with the EU by the end of the year. This agreement has been referred to by people, including you, as the most ambitious trade agreement Canada has ever signed; making NAFTA look like a relic have been your words, Mr. Chairman.
We know there are a number of very important issues. A leaked document prepared by the European Commission for its trade policy committee indicates that perhaps some very serious concessions from the Europeans' point of view might be made on supply management, intellectual property, government procurement, and possibly investor-state provisions.
The minister has said in the House that the CETA negotiations are in his words “the most open and transparent in Canada's history”, and he has said that he's given briefings to the municipalities of this country.
I would assert that before this deal is signed, we should receive a briefing at this committee as parliamentarians. However, as a parliamentarian who sits on the trade committee, I would note the minister has not appeared before this committee since March of this year and has never appeared before this committee on CETA since I've been here. I stand to be corrected if he's ever come before the committee on that, but certainly he has not since March.
I would move that this committee ask the minister to appear before this committee before the House rises on December 14 to give us a comprehensive briefing. The briefing may be done confidentially if there are steps and measures that are confidential at this point. I know the U.S. Congress and the European Union's trade policy committee have received much more information than we have as parliamentarians on this trade committee.
I would move that motion and ask that we call the minister to provide that very important briefing that's critical to our country and to this Parliament.