Mr. Speaker, I wish to thank my colleague from Verchères for his excellent job in directing the debate on Bill C-57. I want to point out at the outset that the time has finally come to deal with the important matter of GATT.
Bill C-57 allows us to question some aspects of this agreement which remain what I would call grey areas. The purpose of my comments is not to oppose this bill, but to raise questions to show the members of this House that it is essential that we have enough time to consider this bill before approving it.
Quebecers have been open and in favour of free trade for a long time. You will recall that Quebec stood alongside the U.S. among the first free trade supporters and that, without their support, Canada might have refused to sign the free trade treaty. You certainly remember that, in the 1988 election, when the free trade agreement with the U.S. was the main election plank of the Conservative Party led by Mr. Mulroney, the former Tory leader found his staunchest allies in Quebec.
Despite the misadventures encountered by the Conservative Party during its first mandate, Quebecers gave their overwhelming support to the Progressive Conservative Party precisely because it advocated tree trade with the U.S. Quebec showed consistency by greatly facilitating the signing of NAFTA, and it now favours extending this agreement to other countries in Latin America.
It is not hard to see the logic behind this attitude. It is crucial for Quebec's small and medium-sized businesses to secure access to larger markets. Like all Quebecers, I am prejudiced in favour of free trade and therefore in favour of Bill C-57 before us today. What I would like, however, is enough time to look at it carefully, and the Liberal government's railroading of such an important bill is unacceptable.
When several major powers with sometimes conflicting interests sit around the negotiating table, we realize how difficult it is to please everyone. In the current economic context, it is essential to agree on how to develop free trade mechanisms. That is why this agreement can, if it is used properly, provide a basis for future trade negotiations.
The potential increase of $755 billion in international trade between now and the year 2005 is the most convincing guarantee of the positive impact of that agreement. The Final Act of the Uruguay Round signed on April 15, in Marrakesh, meets some of the expectations of Quebec and Canada. However, as regards agricultural issues, that agreement is far from making Quebec producers happy.
The structure of GATT has always differed from that of most major UN agencies. Even though Canada was among the 23 original members, it is now at the same level as the other 107 member countries. It is at the mercy of talks dominated by three major players: The United States, Japan and the European Community.
Like all the other members, Canada is somewhat subjected to the priorities and decisions of these giants, particularly the United States and the European Community. Yet, when a sector as important for Quebec and Canada as agriculture is targeted, the federal government must react and stand up for our producers.
Canada did very poorly when it came to protecting the interests of agricultural producers, regarding article XI, because it was trying to do two different things. Article XI essentially allowed Ontario and Quebec dairy producers to benefit from their supply management system. That initiative was obviously extremely important to them. In the east, producers wanted to keep their supply management programs, while in the west, they wanted new markets for their grain. Given its political situation, Canada tried to please both groups at the international level. In the end, it lost some of its credibility and more. The government found itself caught between a rock and a hard place.
As regards article XI, the government could not let down Quebec producers in the current political context. On the other hand, grain exports have very significant economic spin-offs. When you negotiate, you have to make concessions in order to make gains on those issues which are important to you. However, in order to do that, you must first define your priorities.
This example of double-edged sword is clear evidence that we have to put our house in order. The problem is a major one. How can only one voice protect the diverging interests of western and eastern producers?
The fight on Article XI also undermined Canada's credibility with its own agricultural producers. Indeed, the government tried to be reassuring by explaining that, in the short term, higher tariffs would provide producers subjected to quotas the same protection as under article XI. However, the government was silent on the medium term and the long term.
Even though the tariffs proposed by Canada to GATT were not opposed, there is no guarantee that we will not find ourselves in a perpetual trade dispute once they are implemented.
However, during the bilateral talks on durum wheat, Canada made concessions in order to avoid prolonging the dispute by going before a panel.
What will Canada do when the Americans revive the debate on quota production and tariffs on yogurt and ice cream, for instance? Who will decide whether GATT or NAFTA takes precedence? These issues are still unclear.
We need assurances that the government is prepared to answer some very specific questions. You may recall, Mr. Speaker, that during the last election campaign, in the fall of 1993, the Prime Minister, the leader of the Liberal Party, was travelling across Canada and saying: "I will not sign NAFTA unless everything is reviewed from A to Z. And I will negotiate". A few weeks after he was sworn in, the Prime Minister went on a short trip to the United States, came back and quickly signed NAFTA.
Just another instance of the past being no guarantee of the future.
What will Canada do when the Americans revive the debate on yogurt and ice cream, for instance? Who will decide whether GATT or NAFTA takes precedence?
We need assurances that the government is prepared to answer some very specific questions. We must go to committee to assess the impact of this bill. We must also keep abreast of steps being taken by our principal trading partners to conform to GATT. The Canadian government should be able to tell us, for instance, whether it and the American government agree on the definition of dumping.
Although we realize that our agricultural policies must conform to our international trade agreements, the government must not take advantage of our obligation to conform to GATT to justify certain measures to reduce the deficit. In many cases, Canada has already reduced its domestic subsidies by more than 20 per cent, which means that for this round of talks, it has met its commitments for subsidy reduction.
If we look at the amendments to the WGTA to harmonize it with GATT requirements, a number of issues are still outstanding. We still do not know whether the Crow benefit will be transferred to producers or how that will be done. This matter should be dealt with immediately. The Minister of Transport, who has been responsible for the Crow so far, announced last
spring that he would not renew the subsidy. His colleague, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, was quick to announce that his department would be responsible for the subsidy and would, we may assume, make it more effective by making certain changes.
Since that time, the minister has asked the Producer Payment Panel to examine the question. This review led to recommendations about which the minister has not said a word yet. About the Crow's Nest Pass Rates, he told the magazine Le Coopérateur last June: ``Although this problem has been around for many years, we must, for various reasons, tackle it without delay. Not the least of these reasons is the GATT Agreement''.
We, however, still do not know anything about the minister's intentions. It must also be pointed out that Quebec and Canada will benefit from stronger trade regulations. In the last 15 years, several member states, in particular our American neighbour and the European Community, made excessive use of protectionist measures. Clarifying the GATT regulations on the definition of the types of subsidies that are allowed, compensatory or prohibited and the use of countervailing and anti-dumping duties largely favours an international system based on relationships dictated by law rather than force. For smaller states like Quebec and Canada, this strengthening of trade regulations is a safeguard against giants like the United States.
There may be many advantages to an agreement such as the one we are discussing this afternoon. In any case, there is no doubt that, given the internationalization of markets, we must take our place on the international scene and take advantage of trade treaties. Agriculture is only one component of the agreement but its place in Quebec's and Canada's economy does not allow us to minimize the impact of measures affecting this sector. Losing Article XI will require us to restructure our agricultural sector. However, only the future will tell us whether these adjustments were worthwhile. I still think that the grey areas or outstanding problems justify our asking that some aspects of Bill C-57 be clarified in committee.
Furthermore, I find it hard to understand why it is so urgent to conclude this debate when the two giants, the U.S. and Europe, are taking their time. The Americans are moving slowly since some members of Congress are in the middle of an election campaign and this type of agreement is not very popular with voters. Europeans, for their part, have turned this into a power struggle between the European Commission and the Council of Ministers. If this bill is really acceptable, why is it so urgent?
Mr. Speaker, thank you for your attention, and I must again in closing point out that my colleague from Verchères is doing an admirable job of dealing with this matter, for which he is responsible, in order to defend Quebec's major interests.