moved:
Motion No. 4
That Bill C-57 be amended by adding after line 20, on page 4, the following new Clause:
"12.1 The Minister shall conduct a study to determine the effects of the Uruguay Round Agreements on the Canadian milk marketing system and shall, not later than 6 months after the date of entry into force of the Agreement with respect to Canada, table a report in the House of Commons on the results of the study."
Motion No. 5
That Bill C-57, be amended by adding after line 20, on page 4, the following new Clause:
"12.1 Not later than March 1 of each year beginning in 1996, the Minister shall table in the House of Commons a report describing, in respect of the preceding fiscal year of the World Trade Organization ("WTO"),
(a) the major activities and work programs of WTO, including the functions and activities of committees established under Article IV of the Agreement and the expenditures made by WTO in connection with those activities and programs;
(b) the percentage of budgetary assessments by WTO that were accounted for by each WTO Member including Canada;
(c) the total number of personnel employed or retained by the Secretariat at WTO and the number of professional, administrative and support staff at WTO;
(d) for each personnel category described in paragraph (c), the number of citizens of each WTO Member and the average salary of the personnel in each category;
(e) any report issued by a panel or the Appellate Body in a dispute settlement proceeding regarding any law of Canada or of any province or territory in Canada and the efforts of the Minister to provide for implementation of recommendations contained in the report that are adverse to Canada or any province or territory in Canada;
(f) details on proceedings before a panel or the Appellate Body that were initiated during the fiscal year regarding any law of Canada or of any province or territory in Canada, the status of the proceeding and the matters at issue in the proceeding;
(g) the status of consultations with any State whose law was the subject of a report adverse to Canada that was issued by a panel or the Appellate Body; and
(h) any progress achieved in increasing the transparency of proceedings of the Ministerial Conference and the General Council and of dispute settlement proceedings conducted pursuant to the Dispute Settlement Understanding.
12.2 The first annual report submitted to the House of Commons under section 12.1 after the end of the 5-year period beginning on the date on which the Agreement enters into force with respect to Canada and after the end of every 5-year period thereafter shall include an analysis of the effects of the Agreement on the interests of Canada, the costs and benefits to Canada of its participation in WTO and the value of continued participation in WTO."
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise and speak to these amendments before us in relation to Bill C-57, the bill under debate today.
I found it very interesting in the remarks just preceding the reading of the motion that we are debating now concerning the previous amendments that have been dealt with by the House that both speakers from the Reform Party and from the government indicated the inability to support a motion protecting the interests of Canadian producers by saying that the agreement has been signed and we cannot go back and renegotiate.
The amendments that have been brought forward were identical to what the United States Congress is implementing today. The Americans are not asking that we go back to the table and renegotiate the entire Uruguay round. They are just acting in the interests of the people they represent.
For this government and the Reform Party to side by each against the interests of Canadian producers, manufacturers, ordinary working people, people who care about the environment, people who care about whether or not children work or go to school is unbelievable. I find it completely unbelievable.
The government has an opportunity with the two amendments in front of us now grouped for debate to redeem itself somewhat. The motions in front of us once again point to the need to ensure that Canadian legislation represents the same type of interest that the American legislation is representing.
First, we have Motion No. 4 implementing in Canadian legislation section 425 of the American legislation dealing with the study of the milk marketing order system. Mr. Speaker, you have read into the record the motion that is in front of us calling on the minister to conduct a study to determine the effects of the Uruguay round on the milk marketing system.
We could probably choose to do a study on a number of matters within the Uruguay round agreement but certainly the milk study is one that is very important to our producers. We have not yet seen the interpretive papers that this government examined during the negotiations which tell us how the milk marketing changes will affect producers throughout Canada.
In order to be fair to this system, to the agreement and to the government that has accepted the changes at GATT, we are simply asking that in six months time this government in fairness to the milk producers of Canada go back over the previous six months, take a look at what has happened since the implementation of the agreement and find out if the interpretive papers it looked at previously are in line with what was supposed to be happening in the industry.
I said: "Mr. Speaker, you read the motion out in front of us today". Let me read to members section 425 of the American legislation and they can tell me if it is at all similar to the amendment in front of us:
- The Secretary of Agriculture shall conduct a study to determine the effects of the Uruguay round agreements on the federal milk marketing order system. Not later than 6 months after the date of entry into force of the WTO agreement with respect to the United States, the Secretary of Agriculture shall report to the Congress on the results of the study.
The government should not tell us that we have to renegotiate the entire Uruguay round in order to protect the interests of our milk producers in this country.
Second, let us take a look at Motion No. 5 in front of us grouped for debate today. Mr. Speaker, you spent some time reading that motion into the record.
Let us take a look at section 124 of the American legislation that instructs the United States trade representative to present an annual report on the WTO to Congress. Let me read for the record the American legislation that is in front of us, section 124.
Not later than March 1 of each year beginning in 1996, the Trade Representative shall submit to the Congress a report describing for the preceding financial year of the WTO
(1) the major activities and work programs of the WTO, including the functions and the activities of the committees established under article IV of the WTO Agreement, and the expenditures made by the WTO in connection with these activities and programs;
(2) the percentage of budgetary assessments by the WTO that were accounted for by each WTO member country, including the United States;
(3) the total number of personnel employed or retained by the Secretariat of the WTO and the number of professional administrative and support staff of the WTO;
(4) for each personnel category described in paragraph (3), the number of citizens of each country, and the average salary of the personnel, in that category;
(5) each report-
I cannot read the word there. I will have to look at what we are presenting to Canadians.
-issued by the panel or the Appellate Body in a dispute settlement proceeding regarding Federal or State law, and any efforts by the Trade Representative to provide for implementation of the recommendation contained in a report that is adverse to the United States;
(6) each proceeding before the panel or the Appellate Body that was initiated during the fiscal year regarding Federal or State law, the status of the proceeding, and the matter at issue;
(7) the status of consultations with any State whose law was the subject of a report adverse to the United States and was issued by a panel or the Appellant Body; and,
(8) any progress achieved in increasing the transparency of proceedings of the Ministerial Conference and the General Council, and of dispute settlement proceedings conducted pursuant to the Dispute Settlement Understanding.
Sound familiar? The Canadian bill, C-57, contains no such provision. We are asking today that Canada ensure that we have a report on the activities of the WTO in front of us just as the Americans will have by legislative authority. It is the only fair and equitable way to deal with this international crisis confronting us in trade.
I would, even if the Americans had not put this legislation in front of them asking for an annual report, be asking that the Canadian people and the Canadian Parliament receive no less. We are entering into an agreement on a world stage. We then just allow that agreement to carry on without any kind of responsive action to the people of Canada and to this Parliament. It would be most unfortunate if we allowed it to happen.
Let us ensure that we the Canadian people, producers, and parliamentarians have an understanding every year of what is happening on our behalf in the global marketplace and that we are with that information able to respond in appropriate manner.