Madam Speaker, it is a privilege to answer my colleague from Burnaby—New Westminster. We have been serving together for the last few years on the international trade committee. I have had the chance travel with him.
Absolutely, from a committee perspective I look forward to hearing from witnesses from across the country, from all spectrums, on how the Canada-Jordan free trade agreement will benefit Canadians.
If there are some impacts from the Jordan perspective, we want to ensure that it is a free and fair trade agreement. That is what I am absolutely in favour of, not like the fact that we have spent over 33 hours in this House debating the Canada-Colombia agreement. It is clear that even from today's committee meeting the business community is losing market share. The fact is we need to move on that agreement sooner rather than later. Time is of the essence.
We have a chance to be leaders in the marketplace, to get in first and to expand. I hope that our opposition colleagues will not go down the road of protectionism but will look at free and fair trade agreements, such as the Canada-Jordan free trade agreement.