Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you to the minister and officials for being with us today.
I'm going to build on some questions posed by one colleague earlier based on your comments, Minister, about building and safeguarding an open trading system.
On October 28, while speaking to this committee, you said you wanted our trade to have high environmental and ethical standards. Your mandate letter of December 2021 contains 21 objectives. Points 13 and 14 speak to this. Point 13 talks of working with the Minister of Labour to introduce legislation to eradicate forced labour. Point 14 speaks of ensuring Canadian companies and Crown corporations uphold the highest environmental and social standards.
Minister, where does that legislation stand, and why do we hold foreign companies and governments such as China to a lesser environmental and ethical standard than our own? Why is that okay?