Madam Speaker, we could do that if we could imagine—and this is my reasoning—that it would be possible to correct some of the agreement's shortcomings. However, some of the problems with the agreement or relations with Panama are beyond Canada's control. For example, there is the issue of police repression of unions. Although we could study the issue in committee, we would be wasting our time if the Panamanian leaders have no interest in examining and addressing the situation. As for chapter 11, we have raised this on a number of occasions. It would require a change in the government's philosophy, and there is absolutely no indication of that. We believe that it would really be a waste of time.
I just wanted to highlight one of the concerns that was raised. When I say that we must comply with the major international labour conventions, I do not mean that we all comply with them in the same way. We respect the rights that are protected. I would like to give a brief example and end on that note.
The right to unionize is for the most part respected in Canada and Quebec. The closing of the Walmart in Jonquière showed us that there are still shortcomings in the law, but we do unionize to a certain extent in Canada, Quebec and the United States. It is different in Europe. We are not asking others to do as we do, we are asking them to respect a right. For the time being, this does not seem possible for Panama.