Mr. Speaker, the 28th annual meeting of the Canada-France InterParliamentary Association was held last week in France. Nine of our parliamentarians from both Houses attended this meeting.
Discussions focused on our health services, the Kyoto agreement, women and politics, the proposed multilateral agreement on investment, the building of the European Union and the role played by the Canadian Armed Forces during the second world war.
Our two countries share many concerns and interests: efforts to restore fiscal health through deficit reduction of course, but also through strategic social investments; the realization that some so-called national problems can only be addressed within the context of strengthened international co-operation, particularly as regards the environment; common values and interests to uphold in negotiating the multilateral agreement, with respect to the cultural exemption in particular.
Finally, we noted our French counterparts' conviction that the future of our societies is dependent on the strengthening—