Mr. Speaker, sometime when we talk about free trade it is as if we, in the NDP, were against free trade. We are not against free trade but in favour of fair trade. This is what we need here in Canada.
When we entered into free trade agreements such as, for instance, NAFTA, it was to increase the living standard. This is not what has happened, on the contrary. In Mexico, the standard of living has increased, but it has diminished in Canada. The idea was to increase the living standard in countries such as Mexico to bring it to the level of ours.
I will explain. Today in Canada there are more food banks than ever before. Every day new ones are being created. This is the kind of thing that is happening.
Second, let us look at what has happened in the workplace. Workers have been deprived of their rights over the last few years, which is unacceptable. Free trade agreements such as the ones we entered into have not brought us, I believe, what we, as Canadians, were expecting.
I would like to know what the minister has to say about that.