Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, and to our ambassadors, counsellors, and diplomats at the head of the table.
I think as MPs we are afforded rare opportunities because of our jobs and our positions to see different things. One of the most memorable events for me was sitting on this trade committee back in 2008 and 2009, when we headed to Colombia. Our trade committee had a chance to meet with President Uribe at the time. We remember that you were trying to get a free trade deal. People were saying, “You have human rights issues.” ...“Should we do it or shouldn't we do it?”
I remember sitting around a table with President Uribe, and his minister said, “Do you see these people here? There's not one in my cabinet who hasn't been affected by violence in FARC. It's so important that we get a free trade deal. We need Canada to move forward because we're trying to get a deal with the U.S., and the U.S. is not moving forward.”
I remember at the same time there were troops showing up in Venezuela, at the border of Colombia; and the U.S. would say, “Listen, what can we get you? Can we get you military arms?” President Uribe said, “No. Get us a free trade deal. It's so important for us.”
These moments burn into your head. I was there a year and a half ago, on foreign affairs, as you went through the peace process. Talk to us about how that process is going, how important trade is, and why it's important for us to continue to engage. It's great that eight or nine years later we're actually talking about how we can strengthen trade, not whether a country should be allowed into a deal because of what's going on. How important has that been to your country in terms of trying to diversify from the challenges you have had, and how does that relate to the peace process going forward?