Madam Speaker, last weekend I was at the Davos conference. Economists from around the world were there, including Joseph Stiglitz, who won the Nobel Prize in economics and certainly is not an ideologically rigid economic mind.
All of those economists were fearing the U.S. protectionist elements that can put in place barriers to trade, that can lead to retaliation. Every one of them said that is one of their greatest concerns at this time.
This week President Obama actually recognized that what was happening in Congress and the buy American provisions as they were stated were in fact damaging and dangerous in terms of creating that environment. He spoke out against them. What he said quite specifically is, "I think it would be a mistake though, at a time when worldwide trade is declining, for us to start sending a message that somehow we're just looking after ourselves and not concerned with world trade". That is what President Obama said.
President Obama is doing more to stand up for Canadian workers than the New Democrat Party of Canada is doing. Why is it that the New Democrats are willing to sacrifice Canadian jobs on the basis of their rigid ideological perspective that protectionism is best?
The New Democrats should put their ideology away for a little while and defend Canadian workers who need someone who will stand up to Congress at this critical time.