Mr. Speaker, I am pleased and honoured to be able to present a petition on behalf of constituents of mine and other residents of Winnipeg, Manitoba.
The petitioners call upon this government to look seriously at its commitment to participate in the development of the Multilateral Agreement on Investment. They express serious concerns to this government about the way in which this agreement will jeopardize democracy, sovereignty and our economic and social institutions in this country.
They believe the MAI is fundamentally flawed in that it seeks to protect the rights of investors without providing similar protection for workers through binding core labour standards. They believe that the MAI is undemocratic and that it will tie our hands as elected parliamentarians for 20 years.
They call upon this government to reject the MAI and to look at globalization and international trade deals on the basis of compassion and humanity.