Mr. Speaker, I listened with great interest to what my hon. colleague was saying. I do represent probably one of the largest mining regions in the world, and the issue of holding to account is certainly an issue.
In terms of the very rosy picture he is painting, my concern with the deal with Peru is that labour rights are not in the agreement; that is in a side agreement. Peru has a notorious record in terms of labour rights. I would hope he would at least admit that.
In terms of environmental protection, it is all well and good to say we are going to set up some office in Montreal, but the agreement should clearly spell it out, and not in a side agreement, the commitments, obligations and triggers that will be invoked if there are issues.
Once again, in terms of the rights of the investors we see the kind of chapter 11 provisions that existed under NAFTA. Any corporate operation is able to take action, and yet labour groups and environmental groups are not. Why is it that we see a very clear protection of corporate interest in this agreement without the clear commitments to labour and environment?
If we had those clear commitments, I think the member would find a lot more interest in working with the development in Peru and making sure that our export economy works. However, when we see them shunted off to side agreements it is very hard for us in the House to take the government seriously when it comes to its Pollyannaish claims about respecting labour and respecting the environment.