Mr. Speaker, I was pleased to hear the hon. member for Vancouver Quadra put an historical sense to what is being proposed at third reading of the World Trade Organization, something that was attempted after the second world war and was always, by my reading of history, blocked by the United States.
It was interesting to note the hon. member mentioned that in his opinion and apparently in the opinion of the government as well because they did stop all attempts to insert unilateral reservations into international agreements.
I think he was referring to the amendments that NDP members had put before the House at report stage. Essentially we were attempting and continue to make the argument for a level playing field between ourselves and the Americans. Their law which we copied and we are hoping to insert into our law effectively says that where a dispute or problem arises on trade matters, U.S. law shall prevail. That is something the United States has adhered to ever since it became a country. Its constitution gives its Congress that right. I understand that.
However, I have greater difficulty understanding the action it has taken with its proposed law which effectively says the U.S. considers that consensus is still the rule in mediating disputes. That is not what all people conclude the international agreement says. It says where there is a dispute, the disagreement shall be resolved by a vote with the majority carrying. The U.S. persistence in saying that consensus is required means that in any dispute we might have with one of the largest economies and certainly a country with one of the largest armies in the world will only be resolved by consensus. This means if the U.S. does not agree to it, we do not get an agreement.
Since this is an historic occasion and we have gone to a true World Trade Organization where a majority rules and where the same rules will apply to all parties, does the member not have a bit of a suspicion in the back of his mind that as far as our relations with the United States are concerned, it is still going to
be its rules and the World Trade Organization will take a couple of more decades before it arrives between Canada and our major trading partner.