Mr. Speaker, I welcome this opportunity to take part in this important debate today. First of all, I support the amendment proposed by the Reform Party which would postpone the date on which the bill would come into effect and refer the bill back to committee.
I would also like to say to the secretary of state that I was surprised to hear him refer to the position defended by colleagues on this side of the House as opposing the principle of this agreement. That is not the point.
I know that the Bloc Quebecois, speaking for the majority of Quebecers, has supported the free trade principle underlying this agreement. However, this does not mean we cannot say that the fact that these negotiations took place in secret may account for the surprise apparently shown by the secretary of state today.
In the past, Canada has participated in international peacekeeping operations. It has been praised for this. I would say that the Bloc has been proud to participate in developing and, if necessary, maintaining a foreign policy for Canada that is worthy of that past. The government seems to want to sweep this fairly recent past under the rug, as it lists the names of companies that are pressuring the government to adopt this agreement. Is there not something very ironic about all this?
Even in the United States people are starting to disagree with the slogan that what is good for GM is good for the United States. Is Canada now going to say that what is good for a number of large corporations is good for Canada? In an area as delicate and sensitive as the laborious peace process in the Middle East which has now almost ground to a halt, prudence is of the essence.
The government cannot say this agreement is not a signal. It was negotiated in the context of peace building. I may recall this context: men and women put their lives on the line so that both camps, the Israelis and the Palestinians, can visualize peace and reach an agreement. This kind of peace would only be thinkable as part of the development of Israel and Palestine. That in line with this tendency Canada, like the European Union which has renewed its agreement, should initiate and develop a negotiating process to conclude a free trade agreement was entirely normal and in keeping with Canada's history.
However, that Canada, following the latest incidents, regretted by all supporters of the peace process and just a few days before the sad anniversary of the death of Mr. Rabin, after initiating negotiations and seeking to conclude the agreement in this context, should say that this is just a business agreement does not appear to be consistent with what Canadian policy has been so far. Such an agreement cannot be dissociated from foreign policy, even if they would have us believe that it is only a trade matter.
Such a claim is impossible, it is not true. This agreement would not have been negotiated if there had not been a vigorous desire for peace, and if the path toward peace had not been sought and attained, through the Oslo agreements at least.
What does the Bloc want now, then? Not for the agreement to be set aside indefinitely. On the contrary, the Bloc believes that this agreement can be a strong instrument of assistance, without interfering into the internal affairs of either Israel or Palestine, in order to send the message that the peace process is important to us.
This is the reason the Bloc Quebecois would have liked to see-and this is a point it raised in committee-the addition to this agreement of a clause that is included in the free trade agreement between Israel and the European Union. Its article I reads as follows: relations between the parties, as well as all of the clauses making up this agreement, are based on a respect of the human rights and democratic principles underlying their domestic and foreign policies and constituting an essential element of this agreement.
With this clause, the European Union can play a role which Canada refuses to play, I repeat, which Canada refuses to play, by signing this agreement, as if there were nothing to it.
Although we agree with the principle of this agreement-even if, as I have said, it was negotiated in secret, as is the agreement with Chile, as well-we have doubts about the timeliness of implementing this bill now. At the very least, we want to see the timing looked into.
We feel this is sending a message which we feel does not coincide with what countries everywhere who are concerned with the Israel-Palestine situation are trying to do in their foreign policies. They are concerned because, this is my feeling, these two peoples, these two nations, have suffered too much for this difficult agreement we have arrived at not to be implemented.
What message would that send? Some claim that the Palestinians had no problem with this agreement. We have asked for proof of this. Until we are given proof to the contrary, however, we have our doubts.
I would also like to mention one surprising point. Earlier, the secretary of state said that businesses want that agreement to be signed as soon as possible and declared that jobs could be lost if we do not facilitate trade with Israel and Palestine.
Well, let me say that such statement seems to conflict slightly, I repeat slightly, with what we have heard in Quebec these past few months concerning the harmful effects of political uncertainty on the economy. I am emphasizing that point because there seems to be two different analyses, two different visions. On the one hand, businesses are in a hurry to see the amount of trade and investments between Canada and Israel increase but, on the other hand, those same businesses are terribly worried about the Quebec situation.
I would also like to point out that during the NAFTA negotiation process, some parallel agreements were developed on environment and labour. We could call it a social clause process. But there is no such thing in this agreement with Israel, although it would be important.
In conclusion, I will simply say that in this instance they are not striving for such parallel agreements which seemed so crucial to this government. Let me remind you that the Liberals ranted and raved over the free trade agreement, saying it was unacceptable to them; but now, they are promoting the agreement after having reassured Canadians who were concerned about parallel agreements on labour and the environment.
We could question their efficiency but there is a message there. And what message could the agreement with Israel be sending if not that Canada is abdicating its foreign policy, its traditional policy of championing and promoting peace, that it is foregoing the minimum requirements that the European Union demanded concerning human rights and that it is not even asking for parallel agreements like those that accompanied NAFTA. That is why, because the measure would send the wrong message, I will support the Reform Party amendment.