Madam Speaker, I noted with interest that the hon. member for Calgary East, who represents the Alliance Party, referred to and visited the WTO, and in fact talked with Sergio Marchi at the WTO, who is Canada's representative and the former trade minister for the Liberal government. Mr. Marchi, interestingly I think in the context of this debate around FTAA, said that we should forget any opposition to MAI, the multilateral agreement on investment, which had Draconian measures in it, because “the train has already left the station”. In other words, he said that it is too late, that the MAI was going through no matter what and that we should just forget it.
It of course did not. I suppose the view of the four other political parties in this House is that the FTAA is a fait accompli, the train has already left the station. We cannot do anything about it anyway so why are we so concerned.
I would like to ask the member for Calgary East whether he had a chance to ask Sergio Marchi whether the statement made by the former director general of the WTO, which has sent shock waves through the veins of all people in this world that care about democracy, remains the kind of watchword and the driving force of the WTO.
Here of course is that infamous quote “There is a surplus of democracy in the world which is interfering with the free movement of capital investment.”
Could the member for Calgary East indicate whether he had a chance to discuss that with Sergio Marchi and whether he is concerned about the fact that these trade deals are being negotiated under that kind of thinking?