Mr. Speaker, I have a petition signed by dozens of Canadians.
The petition has a lot of whereas clauses in it. One clause draws the attention of the House of Commons to the fact that there has been ongoing violence against workers and members of civil society by paramilitaries in Colombia who are closely associated with the current Uribe government with more than 2,200 trade unionists murdered since 1991. As well, there has been a host of violence committed against indigenous people, Afro-Colombians, human rights activists, workers, farmers, labour leaders and journalists.
The petitioners call on Parliament to reject the Canada-Colombia trade deal until an independent human rights impact assessment is carried out, and that the agreement be renegotiated along the principles of fair trade which would take environmental and social impacts fully into account while genuinely respecting labour rights and the rights of all affected parties.