Thank you, Mr. Chair,
I am not a regular member of this committee, but I am my party's deputy international trade critic.
Regarding the study the and debates held in the House on the free trade agreement, the NDP's position on trade agreements is clear. We have established three conditions. The country we are doing business with should have a good human rights record, and it should be a strategic partner. The third condition has to do with the agreement's content, once it has been disclosed.
I think it's clear from the witnesses' points of view that Honduras is far off the mark with its human rights record. I recognize the arguments that the government side has brought forth, but which, after having been repeated so often, I think we should raise the burden of evidence for. For example, they have been saying that a trade agreement with a country with a poor human rights, record actually improves its human rights or has the potential to do so. Well, I haven't seen any significant evidence of that happening in any deal we've signed before.
There are major problems in Honduras, be they governance or the quality of the judicial process. Those cannot be explained only by narco-traffic. I think it would be a failure to try to explain it that way.
I know my time is limited and I don't want to block the process as we move to clause by clause. For all of these reasons, the NDP side will be voting against each and every clause. Surprise, surprise. You have not made case for CETA or a free trade agreement with South Korea so far.