Mr. Speaker, I want to recognize the hard work of the member for Etobicoke North, who has worked on this file for years. A competitive contract for the lapel pins was actually awarded to a Canadian company, which then sourced the pins to a Chinese manufacturer.
As a government we respect our trade agreements, but we do have a parliamentary exemption which we can apply within those trade agreements to purchases for members of Parliament and senators. As such, I have directed that Canadian pins made for the use of senators and members of Parliament will be manufactured in Canada from this point forward.