Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for his important and quite timely question.
Canada does not advocate the replication of a chapter 11 in the free trade area of the Americas agreement.
We do, however, believe that investors need clear rules on the treatment and protection of investment in a free trade environment; however, these rules must not enable investors to circumvent domestic laws, or things such as labour standards, environmental protection or consumer protection.
I would like to assure the member, and this House, that our experience with NAFTA's chapter 11 would be fully taken into account in the negotiations.