Lou Sekora has trouble counting.
I conclude with a couple of comments that came from the minister of trade when he was in opposition. This is what he said about NAFTA. NAFTA is a very similar type of agreement as the MAI, we think, although we cannot know because they will not tell us. This is what he said about NAFTA:
Without any information and with the results clear as day on the free trade agreement, Canadians can only respond with a certain amount of genuine fear for themselves and their nation. Hansard on March 24, 1992, in opposition that Canadians must be part of the equation. I guess that means at the British Columbia room at the Chateau Laurier:
Canadians must be part of the equation. They cannot be told at the end this is good for them. Canadians must decide for themselves, in conjunction with the Parliament, what is good for themselves, their children and the future of the country.
That is what this motion of ours is about today. Sure we condemn the government. Sure we say that it has mishandled this file. The reason is obvious. Canadians have said this secrecy, this way of giving us the fait accompli at the end of the process is not the way to negotiate international agreements and expect the Canadian people to buy into it.
That is the problem. The toothache, the secrecy, goes on too often, too long and the debates here are simply a rubber stamp instead of a meaningful debate and a meaningful vote. That should change. This motion is to address that issue and try to get the debate on the MAI at least started because the government has failed at every step of the way in having meaningful debate on the MAI, one of the most important agreements ever to face this country.