Mr. Speaker, I think I should correct the member. The United States actually does not carve shipbuilding out of its trade agreements. The United States has domestic policies that prohibit foreign-constructed vessels from plying between two U.S. ports. Canada does not have such a policy.
I would reassert that this agreement has the longest tariff phase-out of any agreement in Canada's history, in terms of the shipbuilding industry.
I would also note that the Canadian shipbuilding industry is poised for a major expansion that I believe is going to tax the capacity of Canada's shipyards. It is going to require the training of shipyard trades that will be employed in the future. The Canadian shipbuilding industry is becoming technologically sophisticated.
We have carved out the “buy Canada” privilege that we now are able to apply to ships that are purchased by the Government of Canada and its agencies. So, that is preserved. Also, when we look at the billions of dollars in ship procurement that Canada will be doing over the next few years, our shipyards are going to have all the work they can handle.