Mr. Chairman, I thank the member of the Alliance Party for the speech. I feel we are getting somewhere and making a difference. The Alliance Party devoted the entire 10 minutes allotted to it for this portion of the debate to attacking the NDP.
I take that as a compliment. It means we are making a difference. It means the Alliance Party is feeling threatened by our position and our policies which have always advanced the ideas of justice, equality and human dignity for all.
I suggest to the member that when he critiques the NDP he should understand that we apply those principles to our decisions and policies whether we are talking about the WTO or an appropriate Canadian response to the U.S. led military strikes in Afghanistan.
The member should focus for a minute on the key issues the House is trying to deal with today. First, we are dealing with the notion that government should hand over decisions that affect the quality of life and community in the country to corporations, to the multinational trade community, to unelected and unaccountable bodies.
That is the first question. It is not necessarily about which trade deal is better or which pact has negative or positive ramifications for the citizenry. The first question is whether we should allow for that kind of unaccountable and undemocratic decision making.
Second, should we condone a system that allows the strong to get stronger and the weak to get weaker? Whatever happened, I might ask members of the Alliance Party, to the notion that the meek shall inherit the earth?
I will ask the Alliance member a couple of questions pertaining to the WTO. As we go into these discussions there are some pretty important decisions on the table. Canada is making some harsh decisions when it comes to Canadians and people around the world.
I will come back to the issue of drug patent protection since it symbolizes what we are dealing with. The Canadian government is going to the WTO discussions hand in hand with the United States with a proposal to deny third world countries and developing nations the right to access cheaper generic drugs to deal with the spread of HIV-AIDS. That is one example.
If I had time I might go on to talk about food safety and the fact that the government is siding with the United States at the WTO level in refusing to prohibit terminator technology. I might refer to the government' s disregard about issues of food safety and genetic modification. I might refer to the whole question of the health system in general.
Are the member and his party prepared to stand up for the interests of the Canadian people and citizens around the world in terms of decency, quality of life and sustainability of our planet, or is he prepared to be a cheerleader for the government and hand over decision making to an unelected body and the multinational corporate sector?