Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise again with respect to the comprehensive economic and trade agreement. I appreciate the opportunity to follow up on a question that I asked recently about leaked reports from the European Union that suggested that negotiations between Canada and the EU were unfolding in a way that could lead to an imbalanced deal that is not in the interests of Canadians.
The first document stated that the EU list of offensive interests is larger than the Canadian one, and that Canadian services are on the table, while Europe's stay exempted. More recently, we have seen leaked documents, again from the European Union, stating that the EU is aggressively coming after Canadian banking regulations, regulations that helped Canada weather the blow of the global recession that began in 2008.
I have brought up similar issues with the parliamentary secretary before, and he generally says that he will not comment on leaked documents. This could be a justified policy except for the fact that leaked documents are all that Canadians have to go on because the Conservative government is the most secretive of any government involved in trade negotiations, maybe in the history of our country.
I have been the official opposition trade critic for almost a year now. In that time, the Minister of International Trade has never come before our committee to update us on the progress of negotiations, not once. The government does not provide us with specific information about what we are seeking to gain from the deal, and it will not provide any information about what we are willing to give up.
Once again today there was a motion before our trade committee that called the minister to update us on CETA. Once again, the Conservatives made us discuss this in secret. Once again, the motion to call the minister before our committee was not adopted. This is not how transparency is provided to Canadians.
Before being elected to this place, I negotiated hundreds of agreements. I know that negotiations can be done in a more transparent manner. Of course, actual negotiations occur behind closed doors. However, the government could give periodic updates and outline what issues are on the table to the principals upon whose behalf it is bargaining, that is, Canadians.
Trade negotiations are no different. We need look no further than our partner, the European Commission. Those doing the negotiations on the EU side must give periodic detailed updates to their trade committees. Our largest trading partner, the United States, also has a much more transparent process that involves their Congress in a real, meaningful way. Instead, in Canada, we get vague descriptions about a wonderful future where the Conservatives spin fanciful stories of mythical gains. Economists would tell us that these predictions are laughable, and that these claims have been cobbled together by a questionable methodology that is not based on real world assumptions.
On the other side, Canadians are expressing serious concerns about what the Conservatives are willing to give up in order to secure a deal with the EU. There are worries about investor state dispute resolution processes that would hamstring local economic development initiatives. There are major concerns about the effect of this deal on farmers in the dairy, egg and poultry industries. Will it raise the cost of medications for Canadians and provinces?
What is needed here is transparency in the process so that we are dealing with facts rather than with leaked documents, fear, ideology and spin. Why will the government not give a briefing to this Parliament and Canadians about what is at stake with CETA so we can see this deal before it is concluded?