Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition signed by residents from across Canada who are deeply concerned about the fact that the Government of Canada is currently negotiating an international trade agreement at the OECD called the MAI or the multilateral agreement on investment.
The petitioners note that the MAI is fundamentally flawed in so far as it seeks to protect the rights of investors without similar protection for workers. They also note that it is anti-democratic.
Therefore, the petitioners call upon Parliament to reject the current framework of MAI negotiations and to 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 government to act in the public interest.