Mr. Speaker, the problem is that the Conservatives pursue an extreme, ideological approach to trade and they do it incompetently. Under the current government, we have gone from a trade surplus of $26 billion, when the Conservatives took office, to a deficit of $50 billion today. Our manufacturing trade deficit has exploded six times to $90 billion. We are exporting $30 billion more in raw materials but $35 billion less in value-added products.
The Conservatives brag that they have signed trade agreements, but these are with the smallest economies around: Panama, Honduras, Jordan, Liechtenstein and Colombia. None are with India, Japan, Brazil, Russia, the large economies. Worse, there is no strategy to pursue agreements with countries that would really benefit Canada. For Conservatives, it is only about the number of deals, not the quality of the deals or the strategic value of selected partners.
Can we pursue a pro-trade policy that respects human rights? Can we sign trade agreements that have positive effects on the environment and labour standards? Can we expand Canadian exports, create good-paying jobs in Canada and increase our value-added products? New Democrats say “yes”; Conservatives say “no”. Why not?