Evidence of meeting #77 for International Trade in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was tpp.
A recording is available from Parliament.
4:20 p.m.
Conservative
Ed Holder Conservative London West, ON
Mr. Sinclair, thank you for your comments as well.
I thought I heard you say—and forgive me if I have misunderstood this—that you had a critical view of trade agreements. Did I catch the right words? I want to be careful as I ask you a subsequent question on this.
4:20 p.m.
Executive Director, Dairy Farmers of Canada
Yes, I said I have a critical perspective on trade agreements.
4:25 p.m.
Conservative
Ed Holder Conservative London West, ON
I'm sorry, I'll put my earphone in just to hear that better. Could you please say that one more time.
4:25 p.m.
Senior Research Fellow, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
Yes, I have a critical perspective on trade investment treaties.
4:25 p.m.
Conservative
Ed Holder Conservative London West, ON
By the way, I have a degree in philosophy, which doesn't really mean so much except that, like you, I try to look at things critically. But if you have a bias against them, how could you ever imagine that a trade agreement...? As you would know, sir, with your critical view of these things, trade agreements involve not just the reduction of tariffs, but a number of things, such as trying to ensure that we have labour standards that are ILO-based and that we have environmental conditions that are broader and stronger.
Here is my question for you. Even if it's not perfect, even if any trade deal doesn't satisfy your critical perspective, as you have indicated, could you not imagine a point at which if you were trying to raise the standard of living in another country, if you were trying to increase your own exports, if you were trying to increase labour and environmental conditions, there would be some things you'd say weren't so bad, even with a critical perspective?
4:25 p.m.
Senior Research Fellow, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
The investment provisions of the NAFTA and subsequent treaties have been used to attack environmental protections in Canada. The subject matter of trade treaties, as I've said, is changing quite dramatically. They involve regulatory matters that need to be fully debated, and instead we see in the TPP that they are moving to greater secrecy and actually stifling the public debate. I think that's very unfortunate for a proper critical discussion of these very sweeping treaties.
4:25 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rob Merrifield
The time is up.
Certainly this committee has embarked on a TPP study that promises to be very lively and very public.
That takes us to the end of our first session.
We are expecting a vote and the bells to ring within a minute and a half, so any time now. It's unfortunate because our second session, I believe, unless something is going on in the House.... Things happen in that place that sometimes change the agenda. The bells are ringing right now, so things haven't changed, unfortunately. We're going to have to postpone the second hour of our testimony and bring these two players back at another time.
I want to thank the two witnesses for kicking off this study in a very exciting way.
With that, the meeting is adjourned.