Mr. Speaker, if it were question period I would refer to my colleague, the Minister for International Trade. Indeed, he will have an opportunity to speak momentarily. The member for Medicine Hat may want to put his question to the minister as well.
Let me say that in fact the objective of our negotiations toward a free trade area of the Americas is essentially to effect the very result the member is talking about. I agree with him that if we are going to create prosperity, not just in the Caribbean but in developing countries around the world, fundamental to that is providing for them access to the markets of the developed world. Otherwise how can we ever expect them to share in the prosperity?
We see the example of that actually happening now in Mexico. We see in the northern tier of that country increasing prosperity, falling levels of unemployment and rising wages. In effect, NAFTA has worked for Mexico the way we would have expected it to happen. It is not a transportation of jobs à la Ross Perot from the United States or Canada. In fact, what is happening is the growth of a middle class in Mexico that is a big market for U.S. and Canadian goods, which is why our trade with Mexico has increased 100% since NAFTA. Certainly the principle that the member for Medicine Hat espouses is one that I agree with.