Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise again to address the ongoing negotiations with the European Union regarding the comprehensive economic and trade agreement known as CETA. This intervention is extremely timely in light of a leaked communiqué out of Europe this week that illustrates the lack of transparency and overly ideological approach that the Conservative government has taken to the CETA negotiations.
First of all, the memorandum illustrates that the European negotiators are being much more consultative and transparent than the Canadian Conservative government. They are providing their parliamentary trade committee with regular updates, allowing for input from European parliamentarians from all political stripes. This is not the case in Canada. The Conservative government will not answer questions in the House directly. It very rarely updates the trade committee on the CETA negotiations and it does not consult broadly with Canadians.
Why will the government not allow scrutiny of the process? Perhaps the leaked documents shed light on that question as well. These leaked communiqués from the European Commission expose the Conservatives' incompetence in negotiating and validate the concerns of Canadians with regard to CETA.
For instance, the government has been talking the talk when it comes to defending the supply management system in Canada. However the European's internal communiqué confirms that Canada has already agreed to grant new market access to supply managed goods in the form of tariff rate quotas. This is not defending supply management in Canada. It is unacceptable to the thousands of farmers in Canada who rely on that system to ensure stability. This type of concession sends shock waves through the supply managed sectors, which see this as a very slippery slope that could be further eroded in future deals such as the TPP.
With regard to intellectual property, the leaked communiqué illustrates that the government is very much considering caving to the pressures of the European pharmaceutical companies. These are concessions that will increase the cost of prescriptions in Canada. Canadians, including provincial governments, employers and other drug providers, have been expressing concerns about this for years now but the Conservatives dismissed these concerns as myth. We now see that the IP changes are on the table and they are decisions that will be “taken at the highest political level”. I ask the minister and the Prime Minister what their decision is. Has it been decided that Canadians will have to pay more for their medications or not?
With regard to public procurement, the EU acknowledges that this is “the most ambitious and comprehensive offer Canada and its provinces have made to any partner, including the U.S.” Our offer to the EU even outreaches commitments that currently exist between provinces in Canada, but Europe still wants more. On public urban transport, Europe is asking us to provide full access and in particular to eliminate all local content requirements for EU operators. It is demanding that provincial and regional development clauses be either eliminated or redrafted.
There is much to discuss with regard to CETA, more than I have time for here, but I must address the issue of imbalance. We have just seen the example of the FIPA with China where Canada signed a deal that was terribly imbalanced, with Canada at the losing end.
Again, in the documents leaked from the EU, Canada may be about to sign another imbalanced agreement. The commission acknowledges that we are only asking that the EU enshrine existing liberalization, while the Europeans are asking us to substantially open our markets. On services and investment, the Europeans claim Canada has opened its markets fully while it has maintained complete policy space for the future. Once again we see the government pushing forward in a reckless manner, selling out Canadian interests and decrying any opposition to its agenda as anti-trade.
On this side of the House we are pro-trade and we await the final draft of the CETA to weigh it in its entirety and see if it is of net benefit to Canada. However, every time we see a leaked draft or document, we see a government that is not putting Canada's interests first.
Will the government heed the advice of Canadians and address the imbalance before it presents us with a final agreement, and will it get consultation from Canadians and let us see the final draft before it is signed off in Europe?