Mr. Speaker, I have petitions calling on the government to stop the Canada-Colombia trade deal. The petitioners point out that the violence against workers and members of civil society by paramilitaries in Colombia, who are very closely associated with the current government, has been ongoing with more than 2,200 trade unionists murdered since 1991. They point out that the side agreements, whether labour or the environment, are not effective and that the whole trade agreement is based on NAFTA which has not been effective in protecting labour or environmental rights. In Mexico, for example, over a million agricultural jobs have been lost since NAFTA was signed.
It also points out that the murder of labour and human rights activists has increased in 2008 in Colombia, and widespread and very serious human rights violations continue to be a daily reality. The labour protection clause in the trade deal includes a penalty for lethal violence against workers, however, this is a token fine to be paid by the offending government into a cooperative fund which makes a mockery of human rights. Therefore, the petitioners ask Parliament to reject the Canada-Colombia trade deal until an independent human rights impact assessment is carried out.