Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Vancouver Centre.
I am very pleased to have the opportunity to participate in this very important debate on the motion that was put forward by my colleague, the member for Kings—Hants, the official opposition critic for international trade. In case there is someone who does not know exactly what the motion is, I would like to read it:
That, in view of the growing protectionism in the United States, which is reminiscent of the counterproductive behaviour that led to the great depression of the 1930s, this House calls upon the Government to intervene forthwith and persistently, with the United States Administration, and the Congress, in order to protect Canadian jobs, and urge the United States to respect its international agreements including the Canada-United States Trade Agreement (CUSTA), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
It is hard to imagine that the U.S. would violate those agreements. We are certainly hoping the Americans are not going to do that, but it is important that the appropriate pressure be put on them to make sure they understand the implications.
Through this motion the opposition seeks to hold the government accountable for what we see as its failure to secure our relationship with our most important trading partner, the United States, on a better footing than it is today.
Just as the Conservative government dropped the ball when it came to addressing the state of our economy, we feel it has not played an active enough role in shaping decisions with our trading partners.
The Conservative government has let the Canada-U.S. trade relationship deteriorate, allowing major U.S. legislation to threaten key Canadian industries and jobs. The government's mishandling of the financial crisis and its delay in bringing forward a stimulus package has meant that Canada missed out on the opportunity to coordinate our response to the economic crisis with that of our largest trading partner. This failure has us scrambling to reach U.S. legislators now and to try to overturn existing legislation when we should have been promoting Canada's interest and leading the development of Canada-U.S. trade policy.
Behind every international trade statistic are relationships. Clearly, the Government of Canada and all parliamentarians have been working on building those relationships through a variety of different sources, including our Canada-U.S. Inter-Parliamentary Group.
It should come as no surprise that the U.S. Congress leans toward putting up barriers to trade in a time of economic crisis. The Conservative government continues to be caught off guard by U.S. legislators reacting to the U.S. agenda rather than advancing our own.
The total absence of a considered strategic approach to Canada-U.S. relations has helped to bring us to the brink of this trade issue, and will continue to hinder the Conservative government's ability to hold sway on other matters of critical importance, such as border security, climate change, the auto sector and the list goes on.
I welcomed last night's agreement by U.S. senators to change the protectionist provision inserted into the U.S. government's economic stimulus bill with the addition of a crucial clause that the bill be applied in a manner consistent with U.S. obligations under international agreements.
On the surface it certainly makes us feel better that the Americans have recognized the issue. I am pleased that the Americans have recognized that they should not enact laws that contravene their commitments to liberalized trading regimes under WTO and the North American free trade agreement, but we are not out of the water yet. Very quickly after the announcement of that motion, some experts relayed concerns that cities and states could be exempt from these restrictions, and it could still hurt both of our ailing economies.
Canadians can rest assured that we will monitor the situation very carefully and make sure that the Conservatives keep up the pressure on the United States. That is why it is so important for us to maintain a positive relationship with our largest trading partner. A strained relationship with the United States surely led to this major worry that such restrictions would spark a trade war and exasperate the economic downturn.
We have a special relationship with the United States, a unique partnership with a long and colourful history where we always try to be respectful of distinct jurisdictions, principles and values.
I have had the privilege of serving as a vice-chair of the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group and I know the challenges that our countries face. We have had many meetings with congressmen, senators and representatives on the issues that bring us together as well as the issues that have given us huge problems, such as the border. On many of those issues we have been able to work them out through our relationship.
It is the Prime Minister's job to make our trade relationship with the United States a priority. I feel he has failed to do this to date.
The Liberal government had a strong record of cooperation with the United States. I would like to remind members and inform new members that former prime minister Paul Martin was so concerned about the relationship between Canada and the United States that he had a parliamentary secretary dedicated strictly to Canada-U.S. relations. In fact, it was the very member for Kings—Hants whose motion we are debating today. It was a huge help to the government at that time, and it might be a great opportunity for the current government to look at that very issue of having a parliamentary secretary working on those relationships.
The Conservatives have failed Canadians before through their misguided actions with regard to trade. Think of the softwood lumber fiasco, for example. Members will remember that the proposal put forward by the Conservative government abandoned Canada's position. It was pursued by successive Canadian governments and upheld by trade panels at both NAFTA and the WTO that our softwood industry is not subsidized.
Putting that aside, it is imperative that we work together to protect the jobs in both countries. We have so many industries that are intertwined, such as our auto industry, our steel industry, and too many more to list. Preventing trade would clearly be contrary to the North American free trade agreement.
I am pleased to hear that the Bloc understands the issues and will be supporting the motion. I hope that the NDP will realize the outdated ideology it is functioning under and support this motion as well. It would be very important for the U.S. government to see that this motion has unanimous support and that we are all very concerned and want to work with the U.S. to solve these issues.
For example, the exclusion of non-U.S. steel would violate NAFTA which lowered trade barriers among the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
The Conservative government must end its politics of division and look to the Liberals and other parties in the House for a good example of how we can work together with our southern neighbours on important issues. We just heard the government whip make some great comments about parliamentarians working together and respecting each other, and I hope that will continue, especially through difficult times.
There is a unique relationship between Canada and the United States. We all need to work to ensure that this important relationship continues to be shaped by our strong friendship and mutual respect.