Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to building on our strong ties with India to create a partnership that will lead to jobs, growth and long-term prosperity.
A Canada-India trade agreement is a key part of our government's ambitious pro-trade plan, and we are pleased that a seventh round of negotiations toward this goal is concluding today in New Delhi. An agreement would be great news for Canadian workers and exporters. The Canada-India joint study concluded that free trade would boost Canada's economy by at least $6 billion a year. That means almost 40,000 new jobs across the country.
However, I was disappointed to see the NDP member for Vancouver Kingsway stating in a recent news article that there was nothing pressing about these negotiations and that other topics are of “far larger significance”. Unlike the NDP, our government values the Canada-India partnership and recognizes that both business and people-to-people ties are helping us to deepen this important relationship.
I ask that the—