Mr. Speaker, I was so proud of the work done by the Minister for International Trade that his name might have slipped out of my mouth. It in no way was meant to go against the rules of the House. I would never do that.
The work done by them was work done on behalf of Canadians. It was certainly done under duress at a time when most of the opposition parties were onside with us, with the exception of the Reform Party. It constantly criticized us for not standing up for one sector of society and criticized us at another time when we were standing up for an important sector of our economy and standing up to the Americans.
Sometimes in international trade it is difficult to get a deal. Rules are complex and different interests and different parties are involved. These things take some time. Industries such as the steel industry in my riding, which is very important, have an interest in this.
I want to also take the time to praise the industries that did not jump on the bandwagon and take the American line like the Reform Party did. They put forward good arguments when discussing this matter with my minister and the Minister of Canadian Heritage as well as our caucus members. Again I thank the Minister of Canadian Heritage for standing up for the steel industry in her area.
It is important to recognize that these amendments to the bill represent a new stage of certainty and security in the evolution of Canadian culture as expressed by the Canadian periodical sector. In the legislative void created we accepted and implemented the WTO decision. It is very important to remind members that when the WTO came down with its decision, Canada followed the rules. We came forward and did what the WTO did, as we do internationally and as we hope other countries do. We went further to make sure Canadian culture was protected.
Security in the future of Canadian stories told in these periodicals will continue to thrive through an investment policy which will foster Canadian content. Most important, there will be jobs for Canadians in the periodical sector. Canadians will be provided with the opportunity to read about themselves and to know about themselves and to appreciate more what their country is about.
We have achieved this end through discussion, through co-operation and through working together with our American friends. This is the way two countries so intertwined in trade should work. Rather than battle a country with which we share a common border and are close in many ways we should resolve these issues through discussion.
We pointed out that Canada has one of the most open markets in the world for foreign magazines. Canadians enjoy reading about themselves but they also enjoy reading about foreign lands and seeing these through a Canadian perspective.
We explained and we also listened. In the end we struck a deal that was not only consistent with our cultural policies, but for the first time in our bilateral relationship with the United States, it agreed to and has recognized that Canadian content is a legitimate Canadian trade objective. That is the first time our American friends have done this.
These achievements, however, did not come without a cost. In any negotiation there is some give and take. We had to provide something in exchange. That is how negotiations work.
We agreed to let foreign publishers have limited access to the Canadian advertising services market, but not enough to inflict damage on our ability to promote that market. It was enough to show that we were willing to give something in negotiation, but, most importantly, not enough to jeopardize Canadian culture as it is expressed in our magazines. However, it was enough to remove the threat of damaging trade action by the Americans.
Between January and last week no less than 10 meetings were held between Canadians and American groups working on this agreement. After all, we are each other's best customers. We find that if we can negotiate, if we can sit down, if we can show each other our differences, then we can move forward more quickly.
We have more than $1.5 billion in trade crossing the border every day. That is why we sought to resolve these issues through dialogue. A trade war would have been far more damaging.
We gave a little, maybe too much for some of our friends on the other side, maybe too little for others, but that is what happens in negotiations. There is give and take.
We should also remember that Canada and the United States have agreed, through dialogue, to other agreements, which were mentioned by the Reform Party, concerning issues of softwood lumber, issues of wheat and agricultural products. When all of these issues came forward we did not end up with a battle; we ended up again giving a little, taking a little, but we ended up with an agreement.
I do not think anybody who knew about the free trade agreement and the NAFTA which followed expected everything to be rosy. In fact, I do not think any trade agreement in the world could make absolutely certain that there would not be disagreements with neighbours. However, we find the best way to deal with these disagreements is through negotiation.
The desire to resolve these disputes through discussion is not only a matter of preference between friends, it is also the practical approach and the best way to deal with these issues. If the United States did retaliate against those industries that were the targets—steel, apparel, plastics and lumber—there would have been a chilling effect on our export markets and our export contacts in these areas. While we would have had the right to challenge the United States pursuant to the NAFTA, Canadian exports still would have suffered. The rules are there and we have to make sure that we understand those rules to put forward our argument and to protect the industries that we hold important in this country.
That is why the Government of Canada preferred a negotiated solution; not a solution at any price, or one that played one sector off against another, but a mutually satisfactory agreement and a balanced agreement.
It was the balanced agreement which was signed last week that led us to introduce these amendments. The amendments to this bill provide increased certainty and security for the Canadian magazine sector and, thus, an ongoing and strengthening venue for Canadians to communicate with each other and to learn more about their country.
We certainly thank the industry itself, which provided the government with a lot of the information and a lot of the resources it needed to put forward this argument. That is the best way to do it; to work through the industry, through those sectors that are concerned about these issues, with the co-operation of the provinces, with the co-operation of Canadians and the NGOs to put forward an argument. That is why we win these arguments. That is why we have moved ahead in trade. That is why our trade numbers keep growing. Even though we are a somewhat small country, when we are put against our larger neighbour to the south I think we do pretty well. If we go around the world and talk to other countries that deal with the Americans on trade issues, most of them look to Canada to see how we do it because we have been successful.
I want to say thanks again to the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, the Minister for International Trade and the Minister of Canadian Heritage for their hard work.