Mr. Speaker, it was quite a treat to listen to the combination of myths, fantasy and distortion from my hon. colleague opposite.
I would like a factual answer to a serious question. The hon. member sits on the trade committee with me and he heard the evidence we heard, that Panama is one of the top two tax havens in the world, that it launders an incredible amount of drug money, and that it would be prudent to have a tax information exchange agreement in place so we would have transparency to assure Canadians that laundered money and tax-protected money is not making its way into this country. We heard that the U.S. Congress insisted that an exchange agreement be in place before it signed a free trade agreement, and I put a motion before the committee to ask the committee to ensure such an agreement is in place before we give preferential trade status to Panama.
Can my hon. friend opposite answer why he voted against ensuring we have a tax information exchange agreement with Panama in place before we sign a trade agreement, as our colleagues in the United States insisted on so prudently?