Mr. Speaker, we would like the minister to give us more time.
I listened with interest to the address in reply to the throne speech given by the member for Papineau—Saint-Denis. On this side of the House we are getting tired of hearing that it feels good to know that Canada is the best country of the world, the government is letting it go to its head.
To say that Canada is not a traditional nation state as the minister said again today and as he wrote in a book well worth reading, is a contradiction of the throne speech itself.
As I asked in my own speech last week, how many times is the word national used in the throne speech? The throne speech mentions that Canada has a national government and yet the minister claims it is not a nation state. This is a contradiction the minister might want to explain. Could it be that he disagrees with people who say Canada has a national government?
I noticed that regarding negotiations at the WTO, under the heading “international trade”, the throne speech does not say anything about the provinces taking part in such negotiations. I would like to know whether the minister intends to involve the provinces in these negotiations and make sure they are asked to approve any future treaty dealing with issues coming under provincial jurisdiction in the Constitution.
Does he intend to involve parliament in the negotiations? Is he willing to have the outcome of such discussions and negotiations reviewed by parliament, not only by the foreign affairs committee, but also by the House of Commons?