Thank you, Mr. Chair.
You shouldn't be surprised that we're absolutely opposed to this amendment because the investor protection provisions are the cornerstone of a modern trade and investment agreement, as we've heard from Mr. Burney and a number of staff who've appeared at this committee over the years.
The fact that the NDP want to remove this component is, I would say, very disappointing. The fact that we'd send the negotiators back, and the January 1 effective date would be delayed because they'd have to renegotiate the agreement, is basically anti-trade. You'd be cutting the premise of the agreement.
We talked about providing fairness and equality. This basically is, as I said, the rule of law. We have fairness in interpretation of all our agreements.
I can understand Mr. Davies looking after his core supporters, in particular from some of the unions and some of the anti-trade groups that have appeared over the years. But it's not in the best interest of, I believe, hard-working Canadians. We even heard from one of the unions that presented here last week—or earlier this week—at our committee. This agreement is in the best interests of Canadians. We fully support this investor-state provision in this agreement and our 21st century agreements as we move forward.
We'll be voting against this amendment.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.