Mr. Speaker, I have the pleasure today to present a number of petitions, with names gathered from all across Canada, from Canadians who are concerned about the multilateral agreement on investment.
They are concerned that the MAI is the latest in a series of regional and global agreements which, in the name of liberalizing trade and investment, expand the powers of multinational corporations at the expense of the powers of governments to intervene in the marketplace on behalf of our social, cultural, environmental and health care goals.
They also submit that the MAI is fundamentally flawed in so far as it seeks to protect the rights of investors without seeking similar protection for workers through binding core labour standards and that the MAI is anti-democratic in so far as it would be binding for 20 years, thus tying the hands of several parliaments and future governments.
They therefore call upon Parliament to reject the current framework of MAI negotiations and instruct the government to seek an entirely different agreement by which the world might achieve a rules-based global trading regime which protects workers, the environment and the ability of governments to act in the public interest.
We have many petitions to present. Thousands of Canadians have signed these petitions. They call upon Parliament to reject the MAI.