Mr. Speaker, I certainly appreciate and welcome the comments from the member for Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca. However the member knows full well that the issue here is not trade just as a word. Trade has existed for thousands of years among peoples whether they were part of a nation or not. Trade is a part of who we are as human beings. The issue we are debating through this legislation and under things like the FTAA is the issue of the rules that are created around those trade agreements.
For example, there are rules that create such restrictive policies around intellectual property rights that we end up with a piece of legislation such as this which will actually deny people access to affordable drugs in Canada. Surely that is what the debate is about. Let us not send up smokescreens and say the NDP is against trade.
If the hon. member has listened to any of the debates in the House he will know that the NDP has advanced a position on a policy of fair trade based on respecting the dignity and rights of all people. The NDP has a policy of trade that respects the authority of parliament to make decisions in the public interest.
I will say again that this piece of legislation is the complete opposite of that. The House is debating the legislation because the WTO, and who the heck is that, has dictated that it shall be done. Is that not wrong? I believe it is.