Mr. Chairman, today's take note debate seeks, among other objectives, to convey the views of parliamentarians to the leaders of the Canadian negotiating team that is headed for Doha, in Qatar.
First, I can only deplore the minister's absence this evening. He will leave for Doha on Wednesday and it would have been important for him to be here during this whole take note debate to get to know the sensitivities and views of all the members of parliament, who took the time to prepare texts and present their views in the House.
The world is changing and getting smaller at an incredible speed. The world in 2001 is completely different from the world in 1995, if we only take one significant date in Quebec's history. Today, and this tendency will become increasingly more prevalent, the rules affecting what we eat, watch, read and consume, in other words the rules affecting all of us, are increasingly defined at international tables, whether it is at meetings such as the Quebec City summit, the Seattle ministerial conference, which I attended, or the upcoming one, which will take place in Qatar.
Contrary to what some theorists believe, and I would count Canada's Minister for International Trade among them, the nation state is becoming increasingly important in the new world order.
The nation state is the main actor in this new world order. The minister would never let another country negotiate for Canada, and with good reason. Which begs the question: Why would a country, a people, such as Quebec, let another people negotiate on its behalf?
The rules of globalization, which affect people in their everyday lives, are decided around international tables where only sovereign countries sit.
Obviously, the European Union is an exception, because the European commission negotiates on behalf of the members of the European Union, but the commission's mandate is conferred by the 15 members of the European Union. The commission is then required to report to member countries to ratify several clauses and international trade treaties.
Without this sovereignty, without independence, a people can never hope to influence in any way these rules of globalization that affect people in their everyday lives. This is one of the main reasons why I hope that Quebec will become a country as soon as possible, in order to benefit from the globalization movement, to share with the world its values of solidarity, sharing and cultural diversity.
The ministerial meeting I will be attending in Qatar is especially important. Last spring the Bloc Quebecois expressed its position on international trade on many occasions, as evidenced by the number of questions that the Bloc Quebecois raised in the House. The position that we put forward, that we explained, and I even toured all of Quebec to dialogue with Quebecers, is the same position that we held at the Quebec summit.
First, transparency must be assured. People will not agree to negotiations on subjects that will affect their everyday life being carried on behind closed doors, and rightly so.
It is true that most of the governments negotiating are elected, but no people has ever given these governments the option of deciding the rules affecting us in our everyday lives in secret. Here in parliament we vote on laws that affect Canadians and Quebecers. We do so openly. It is telecast. The public can see the various bills, appear before a committee, and discuss and meet with the various MPS and caucuses to express their viewpoint.
Unfortunately, internationally, within the framework of the WTO, individuals and various groups, rightly concerned by the various discussions, cannot express their viewpoint as clearly as they can within their country.
It is also important to establish much closer ties between parliament and the various parliaments involved in these discussions. I mentioned this at the very start of my speech. It is unfortunate that Canada's principal negotiator at the conference in Doha is not with us to discuss with the various speakers the issues that will concern us and that will be raised at the ministerial conference in Doha. It gives an idea of how little the government and the minister care about what the parliamentarians in this House think.