I just want to say thank you for giving me the opportunity to be here.
I have to mention that I am disappointed in the lack of town hall meetings taking place. We didn't have one in Cape Breton, and to my knowledge there was none in Nova Scotia. I think that was promised to us. It would have given other people the opportunity to attend, people who may not be able to be here today.
I am going to start at the end, in case I get cut off. I am standing in opposition to the TPP, and I expect you folks to make the same decision. There is no point in signing a trade agreement that has no economic benefit for Canada but does have major political and social implications, including the potential to diminish the health of Canadians, the people who voted you folks in.
With regard to the policies, legislation, and regulations that we do have in place to protect us from harmful products, the TPP can take that away from us. It can give companies the ability to freely market products that could be harmful to our health. That's because of the ISDS. We've already seen that under NAFTA, with the Ethyl Corporation and MMT, which is suspected to be a carcinogen. A lawsuit took place, and it is no longer banned. We also paid $13 million out to that company.
Another concern is the future legislation and policies, and the unwillingness of policy-makers to make health and other regulations in fear of litigation.
Those are some of the concerns I have. We need to be careful with the regulations we have, and we shouldn't be pushed into something we don't want because of fear of being sued.
Thank you.