Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned at the start of my remarks, one of the problems we have with the whole process is growing public distrust, not only due to the lack of transparency but to the lack of a role for parliamentarians.
One of the things I deplore about the final statement of the summit of the Americas, by the 34 heads of state, is that at no point in the final statement is mention made of the role of parliamentarians, when one of the objectives set was the strengthening of parliamentary democracy.
How is it possible to strengthen representative democracy while denying parliament a decisive role in the negotiations? I think one might expect—as is done in most parliaments based on the British tradition, be it in Great Britain or Australia—that a vote would be held in this House on the entire final agreement on the free trade area of the Americas, before the government ratified it.
As I say, our British tradition is no obstacle to this method, since even the parliament of Great Britain uses this method.
Obviously, we must not find ourselves at the end of the process faced with a fait accompli. This is why the mechanisms must be tightened to allow parliamentarians to be involved on an ongoing basis, and not only through the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
The issues relating to continental trade agreements have an impact on agriculture, work, health and many aspects of our daily lives. In that sense, the proposal unanimously adopted in this House last week to put in place a transparent and ongoing process involving parliamentarians should make them contribute in a much more continuous and articulated basis because, as I mentioned, it is not just an issue of trade or relations with other countries.
As Canadian and Quebec parliamentarians—and considering that the North American Free Trade Agreement has now been in effect for seven years—we have a responsibility to take stock and to share our findings with all the parliaments and people of the Americas, so that they can make a judgment on the positive effects, but also on the dangers of a free trade agreement.
As I indicated at the beginning of my speech, this was requested by Latin American parliamentarians. They want us to inform them of our conclusions on this agreement.
In that sense, I hope that we will continue this type of work and debates on the provisions found in NAFTA, to avoid making the same mistakes in the negotiations on the free trade of the Americas.