Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be able to engage in this debate, particularly after having listened to that rather enlightening rendition of creative imagination on the part of the Bloc Quebecois members. I am happy to know that Jules Verne is alive and well and writing science fiction when we hear their description of how everything can change while everything remains the same. It does challenge the imagination.
I want to speak for a few moments about the allegations contained in the motion on the floor today with respect to Bill C-88. That is the bill to implement the internal trade agreement which was negotiated and signed among the federal government and the provinces about a year ago today. I must say that the allegations contained in that motion represent an inability or perhaps an unwillingness on the part of the Bloc Quebecois to understand the plain meaning of the text in the bill.
As was said in the House before, the federal government would seldom intervene as plaintiff in a dispute that arises within the context of the Agreement on Internal Trade. If a dispute is settled in the federal government's favour and the province concerned refuses to accept the conclusions of an impartial panel, the federal government could then suspend benefits or impose retaliatory measures of equivalent effect.
Clearly, such measures would be imposed in the same sector as the initial violation or in another sector regulated by the agreement. Retaliatory measures would not affect transfer payments or social programs since these do not come under the purview of this agreement.
Bill C-88 does not make the federal government the policeman of the internal trade agreement as the official opposition mistakenly insists. Anyone who takes the time to read the bill, even the headnote to clause 9 of Bill C-88 or to read article 1710 of the agreement on internal trade can only verify the accuracy of what I have just outlined. Bill C-88 deals only with what the federal government must do to live up to its obligations under the internal trade agreement and nothing else.
As I said in the House on May 4, the agreement on internal trade is a consensual agreement. All the parties who agreed to it must act within their own jurisdiction to implement it and comply with its obligations.
So far, only the federal government and the Government of Alberta have tabled legislation to implement the agreement and comply with their respective obligations in this regard. It is probable that most of the other parties to the agreement will decide to do likewise, sooner or later.
I am sure that all Canadians are anxious to see what governments that claim to support domestic free trade will actually do to implement the Agreement on Internal Trade and eliminate the barriers they themselves created over the years.
Bill C-88 is an historic milestone. It is an opportunity for the federal government to show leadership and to do so with the governments of the other parties to the agreement, as they implement the first comprehensive domestic free trade agreement since the British North America Act, 1867.
Since 1867 the Canadian economy has grown and evolved in ways never imagined by the Fathers of Confederation. The federal government still has the constitutional responsibility for trade and commerce. Over time, provinces have assumed prominent roles as influencers of economic growth and in the regulation of trade and commerce at their level.
As a result, trading arrangements and regulations have developed in an ad hoc way often in response to a particular regional need. Many of these measures create barriers to trade as they impact on the free flow of goods, services, people and capital within Canada.
Such barriers can lead to the inefficient use of resources and limit the ability of industry to take advantage of economies of scale and to maintain competitive market positions. The result is to reduce the competitiveness of Canadian business and adversely affect the Canadian economy.
Also, in Canada we have a patchwork of regulations, standards and other barriers to interprovincial trade that have grown around us and have become an unacceptable feature of our domestic market. There has been growing concern and evidence these barriers to trade are seriously affecting our ability to remain competitive in the international trading environment.
It is urgent that we establish a new trading regime in Canada, one based on more open interprovincial trade, one that would not impede the movement of people and investment within the country and one that would allow for co-operative approaches to the resolution of domestic trade disputes. Bill C-88 is a key element in bringing to fruition the process of intergovernmental negotiation and co-operation that will produce that new regime.
This bill concludes a lengthy process to which many people have contributed and which has involved analyzing a great many issues and points of view. Ministers and officials of the federal, provincial and territorial governments took an active part in this process, as well as representatives of the private sector.
In fact, representatives of the private sector and especially members of the business community have put constant pressure on all levels of government to find ways to deal with interprovincial trade barriers and the resulting economic cost for Canada.
The Canadian Manufacturers Association, for instance, estimates that trade barriers on domestic markets cost the Canadian economy about $7 billion annually in terms of lost jobs and income.
The agreement on internal free trade signed last year by the Prime Minister and other first ministers is an outstanding example of what can be accomplished within a co-operative framework in Canada. It is also important to note that political parties of all stripes and all regional perspectives have been part of this process.
All parties that took part in the negotiations share the same view and recognize the benefits of a more open market for Canada.
As a result of the work done by the committee of ministers on internal trade and by the chief negotiators, we achieved a comprehensive agreement. It provides for a rules based system for trade within Canada, a dispute settlement mechanism to resolve issues on internal trade matters, a standstill on new barriers, commitments to future negotiations to broaden and deepen the agreement, a code of conduct to prevent destructive competition for investment, increased labour mobility and a commitment to reconcile standards related measures. These are significant achievements.
Dispute settlement is a key component of this agreement as it is of any trade agreement. This agreement represents a unique response to circumstances that are uniquely Canadian. The agreement is based on rules which, in turn, are based on certain concepts and agreements that are well established in international trade but adapted to the Canadian context.
Well known examples include the GATT agreement, the European Union and NAFTA. There have been suggestions that we in Canada should just use one or other of these models in the Canadian situation. However, these suggestions overlook the important issue of the sovereignty of the parties to an agreement as well as the degree of political control the parties themselves are willing to give up to the compliance mechanism which is in place in the accord.
The agreement on internal trade sets out the framework and basic underpinnings for a dispute resolution mechanism approach that is unique to the Canadian context and provides for open access to the settlement process. This approach commits all parties to the use of conciliation to address problems arising from the provisions of the agreement, including its principles, its rules and its individual sectoral agreements.
The mandate of the committee on internal trade is to "assist in the resolution of disputes arising out of interpretations and applications of the agreement". The working philosophy of the committee and of the agreement is to use consultation and conciliation in dispute resolution.
Disputing parties will be encouraged to make every attempt through co-operation, consultation and other forms of dispute resolution to arrive at a solution. If consultation fails, governments or governments on behalf of individual persons or persons directly can ask to have matters raised with a panel. The panel will consider the facts and make recommendations for changing policies or behaviour, but it will not assess damages. The underlying objective of the process is to seek to change inconsistent behaviour and policies and not apply penalties or award damages.
Under the agreement, retaliation is only possible at the end of the dispute settlement process. Only in cases where the federal government was a complainant in a dispute and only where a province has refused for a year to change a measure found by an impartial panel to have violated the agreement could the federal government consider taking retaliatory action.
Such action would first have to be discussed with the committee on internal trade. Even then it could only be such as to have the equivalent economic effect to the measure that had originally violated the agreement and it would have to be taken in a sector specifically covered by the agreement. This is what the Bloc Quebecois is complaining about as an undue intrusion of the federal government into provincial affairs. I ask you, Mr. Speaker, if you have ever heard anything so ridiculous.
In addition to dispute resolution procedures, the bill also presents amendments to a number of other federal acts which need to be changed in order that we meet our obligations to the provinces and territories to make the changes to federal legislation and regulations necessary to implement the agreement which we signed last year. All parties to the agreement were informed on April 12 in Calgary that the federal government would be introducing these amendments in the near future.
Our work to date has emphasized the value of the co-operative approach to solving trade problems internally in Canada. Our work in the future will do so as well. That is the very reason the agreement on internal trade has been criticized by members of the Reform Party for not going far enough fast enough. Other members opposite would have had the government act unilaterally. They have suggested under sections 91(a) and 121 of the Constitution to impose free internal trade on the provinces. That is the very thing the other opposition party accuses us of having done. Both criticisms are purely and simply ill founded and wrong headed.
The government tried to resolve this country's problems in collaboration with the provincial governements. The process leading up to the Free Trade Agreement bears witness to this. It has been our approach in the past, it is our approach now and it is the only approach that any responsible Canadian government can take in the future. It is the only way to govern and that is what real power is.
Cases where the federal government is the grievor in a disagreement under the Free Trade Agreement will be few. If a dispute were settled in favour of the federal government and if the province in question were to refuse to respect the conclusions of the impartial panel, the federal government would have the right to withdraw equivalent benefits.
Such retaliatory measures should be taken in the same sector as the initial violation or in another sector covered by the accord.
Retaliation could not involve transfer payments or social programs because these things are not covered by the agreement. Bill C-88 does not make the federal government a policeman of the internal trade agreement as the official opposition has claimed.
Bill C-88 only covers the federal government's obligations under the interprovincial trade accord, nothing more. The interprovincial trade accord is a consensual accord. All parties to this accord are responsible for applying it in their own jurisdictions and for meeting its requirements.
What we have heard over this day of debate is a series of allegations founded on misapprehension, perhaps wilful misunderstanding of the contents of bills before the House.
The agreement on internal trade we want to see broadened, deepened and strengthened. There is a lot more work to do. I call on the official opposition, since the Government of Quebec has claimed to be a free trader, not to put up roadblocks to a real free internal trading market within Canada but to begin to support it with actions instead of protestations.