Mr. Speaker, I think the member opposite reinforced my very point when he mentioned that China is the second largest economy in the world. Accordingly, this FIPA is substantively different from any previous ones. Moreover, we were given no opportunity to study it in committee, with no expert witnesses able to come forward to help parliamentarians understand the implications.
This is in the context of a government that has forfeited the trust of Canadian citizens. It is a government that has been closed with its information, which has not allowed its scientists to speak to the public about their findings. It is a government that requires the Parliamentary Budget Officer to threaten to take it to court just to produce the information that he requires to provide Parliament with information on the budgets that parliamentarians are expected to vote on and the kinds of accountability they are expected to provide.
It is a government that has lost the trust of the Canadian public and Parliament, and now is concluding major agreements in secrecy without the proper scrutiny that committees would be able to provide. That is what we are seeking. We are seeking this for this agreement and, indeed, all treaties and agreements.