Mr. Speaker, I thank the minister for quoting me. I was going to make that point but he has done it for me.
When we see the trade deals that the government has brought forward, does it really think that free trade agreements with Iceland, Jordan and Panama will actually open up our economy to the extent that we will lift all boats up? Unemployment is stubbornly at 7% in this country. We just heard the job numbers.
The government has done nothing to focus on a job strategy and yet it puts out these pithy agreements that make us vulnerable because of the way they are negotiated. We put forward many amendments on this trade deal. We believe in trade but we need to ensure it is for Canadians as well as the people we are trading with.
Exactly how many good jobs will be created for Canadians, jobs we can count on because we will put this on the record for later? Why did the Conservatives reject the amendments we put forward which would protect the labour rights of those who we are trading with, in this case Panama, as well as the environmental protections? Why did they reject those amendments which were reasonable?