Mr. Speaker, I welcome the opportunity today to speak on second reading of Bill C-57, an Act to implement the Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization. On April 15 in Marrakesh, Morocco, the 125 signatories to the General Agreement on Tariff and Trade, commonly referred to as GATT, finally signed the agreement that finalized the lengthy negotiations of the Uruguay Round, which had taken nearly eight years.
Later on, I will elaborate somewhat on the process that led to the conclusion of this agreement and on the various stages of the Uruguay Round. By signing the Marrakesh agreement, member countries created the World Trade Organization, which is to replace GATT from now on. However, implementing the various provisions of this agreement and the tariff tabled by Canada in February will require a number of adjustments to existing legislation.
The bill before the House today is essentially concerned with consequential amendments to existing legislation. Part I of the bill covers the ratification of the agreement, identifies the positions of Canadian representatives with the various bodies of the World Trade Organization, determines the payment of Canada's contribution towards the operating expenses of the World Trade Organization and contains provisions for suspending concessions the agreement allows in specific cases.
Part II of the bill, which is also the most substantial part, amends certain acts to reflect the obligations contained in the agreement, and as a result, many existing acts will be amended by this bill. These include, for instance, the Bank Act, the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Act, the Canadian Wheat Board Act, the Canada Cooperative Associations Act, the Copyright Act, the Customs Act, the Export and Import Permits Act, the Financial Administration Act, the Investment Canada Act, the Investment Companies Act, the Meat Import Act, the Patent Act, the Special Import Measures Act, the Trade-marks Act, the Trust Companies Act, the Loan Companies Act and the Western Grain Transportation Act.
Part III deals with the coming into effect of this bill, showing the extent of the ramifications and implications this bill will have in our everyday life. In this regard, it is obvious that the significant changes brought about by trade liberalization are likely to raise a number of concerns in certain circles. The changes made in international trade rules are undoubtedly bound to result in a restructuring of the various national economies and certain economic sectors are more affected than others.
But apart from these structural adjustments, which are temporary and transitional, we must recognize that trade liberalization presents us with to formidable challenges and note the remarkable adaptability demonstrated so far by the various sectors of our economy as well as the vitality shown by Canadian and Quebec businesses in the face of market expansion.
Trade liberalization forces us to become competitive. We must rely on those areas where we excel, occupy new market niches, put the emphasis on value-added products and, consequently, invest massively in research and development as well as put in place coherent and efficient vocational training and manpower adjustment policies.
The establishment of the World Trade Organization will result in the strengthening and hastening of the planetary trade liberalization movement. There is every indication that it will soon be joined by new members, some of which, like China, show a major potential for economic development.
Needless to say that we will be supporting this bill, since it is intended to implement an