Mr. Speaker, I have the pleasure to present a petition containing hundreds of names of Canadians from all across Canada who are concerned about the multilateral agreement on investment.
They see it as 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 power of governments to intervene in the marketplace on behalf or our social, cultural, environmental and health care goals.
They see this agreement as being flawed in so far as it seeks to protect the rights of investors without seeking similar protection for workers through binding core labour standards. They see it as being anti-democratic.
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 that protects workers, the environment and the ability of governments to act in the public interest.