Madam Speaker, I have good friends in the NDP. I do respect the view from that side, but I do not share that view. I grew up and worked in Africa and I know the devastation and the impact of unsound economic policies.
In the 1970s when countries became independent people chose two paths. They chose either a free market economy or a closed economy. Tanzania chose the socialist economy. Many countries of the world chose socialist economies while others chose free market economies.
In about 20 years a marked difference took place. Countries with freer markets were the ones that took part in trade. The best example of globalization is Hong Kong. Its prosperity is globalization. It does not produce much because it does not have anything. Yet it has one of the best standards of living.
There were two systems in the world. When the socialist closed system collapsed, countries realized that in order to raise living standards for their populace they had to open up their markets and look for private investment. Government aid was no longer the point. If they wanted to raise the standard of living of their people they had to have private investment and open trade. This was staring them in the face. We are seeing that today.
That is why dictatorships have collapsed. They have collapsed because they could not sustain economic growth. Economic growth can only come through trade, sound economic policies and good investment policies. That is what the governments of various countries are trying.
There are programs available in CIDA. I agree with CIDA when it tries to create sound policies for economic management in foreign countries, particularly business rules and investment rules which foreign countries lack. It may be a long process, but if it is done I am positive like everyone else that the economic standard of these countries would increase.
It is important that Canada have free trade access because we have a small market. Canada has only 30 million people. We need foreign trade for our own prosperity. It is a win-win situation for everyone.