Mr. Speaker, I am in support of the bill because this is the type of decision we have to make. The secretary of state asks why now, after over 40 years. The ICSID convention was negotiated in the 1960s prior to the general inclusion of federal state clauses, provisions commonly found in international treaties that allow a state a position of ratifying a given convention in respect of some of its sub-entities.
Globalization is a reality as well. We are going through globalization today. Demographics play a key role. Canada being the most diverse country in terms of demographics, we have opportunities to invest overseas. I am very pleased to see that five of the provinces and territories have already ratified this and that the others remaining want to come to the table to make it easier for Canadians to compete in the global market today.