Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his comments. They were well intended and well taken.
This subject has raised a lot of concern back home. It goes back to the general election campaign. People were asking questions about the MAI then and they are still asking the same questions.
Will the government hold public hearings across Canada so that everyday Canadian citizens will have a chance to appear before a committee on all aspects of the MAI? I know the member has provided some ideas. For example people can use the Internet. Some of the people I have talked to have said that they have had trouble finding this information on the Internet. Will the government go across Canada with a full public debate?
Another question that comes up quite often is the concern about preserving our Canadian culture. The minister mentioned that he is looking for a country specific reservation on culture. However there remain issues such as standstill and rollback clauses. If it is just a country specific reservation on culture, is it still allowed to be rolled back? Should we not be looking for a general exemption on culture?