Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague again for allowing me the opportunity to share my comments on this. The first question he asks is a very important one, which is what kind of strategy do we deploy to make Canada competitive in this new global environment where there is major restructuring taking place? One of the key and fundamental ways of doing that is to promote free trade. The best way for Canada to do so is through a multilateral position, which I have indicated, through the WTO, and it is very important that we pursue that strategy very aggressively.
In light of that, there also needs to be a parallel strategy to work with some of the key emerging markets. I would sense from my experience that there is no doubt that the potential exists in countries like China, India, Brazil and Russia, and we need to have a strategy not only to push our trade agenda through the multilateral organizations, but also to work with these nations at the same time to make sure that we do not fall behind other countries.
One of the concerns I have is that as a trading nation we are falling behind. We need to be aggressive when it comes to promoting trade, but in a very fair manner and in a manner that recognizes not only the importance of trade but some of the other elements within our system as well.
Also, with respect to EFTA, I mentioned in my speech that EFTA should be a stepping stone toward building a more comprehensive and open strategy with the European Union. That is a very important market, a market that, essentially, we need to be present in, that we need to be more active in. In light of what we have seen in the United States, we now recognize more than ever the importance of diversifying our trade to be able to have a presence in other markets so that when one market takes a downturn we can then take advantage of expanding our trade and services in other markets.
EFTA, in my opinion, is definitely the right step in promoting trade within that geographic region. I would encourage that EFTA go beyond simply a first generation agreement and look at investment and services as well.