Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to rise today to speak in favour of the Canada-China foreign investment promotion and protection agreement on behalf of the great constituents of Canada's largest town, Richmond Hill, Ontario. Richmond Hill is a diverse community, thriving in the heart of the greater Toronto area. I have the honour and privilege and am humbled to be here to represent them.
No government, as my colleague has just stated, in Canada's history has been more committed to creating jobs and prosperity for Canadian businesses, workers and their families. A key driver of prosperity is free and open trade. That is why our government has adopted the most ambitious pro-trade plan in Canadian history.
Our government recognizes that protectionist restrictions stifle our exporters and undermine Canada's competitiveness.
While we are opening new markets for our exporters in dynamic, fast-growing markets around the world, we are also ensuring that Canadian investors have the predictable business climates, environments they need to invest with confidence. That is why we pursue foreign investment promotion and protection agreements to provide the predictability investors need when investing in foreign markets.
These bilateral trade and investment treaties are essential to bringing continued prosperity to Canadian families. In fact, since the launch of the global commerce strategy, Canada has concluded 16 new or updated foreign investment promotion and protection agreements.
By improving access to foreign markets for Canadian businesses, our government's ambitious pro-trade plan is supporting economic growth and the creation of new opportunities for Canadian exporters and investors.
We are putting in place the conditions necessary to create jobs for Canadians and to capitalize on our strengths as a country. Foreign investment promotion and protection agreements provide greater predictability and protection for investors from both countries that are parties to the agreement.
These treaties support Canadian business efforts to explore the growing investment opportunities in a variety of sectors. Once in force, they provide more stability for Canadian firms investing in the foreign country. The foreign investment promotion and protection agreement is a high standard agreement and is comprehensive in its scope and coverage.
Despite the many naysayers who have said it is important to note that all obligations of the agreement apply reciprocally to both parties to the agreement, it will also grant investors access to the international arbitration to resolve disputes.
The dispute settlement provisions in this treaty ensure greater protection for investors against discriminatory and arbitrary practices and they provide a way for Canadian investors to pursue adequate and prompt compensation in the event of an expropriation.
I would also emphasize that it is, and continues to be, Canada's policy to open all hearings to the public whenever the Government of Canada is challenged under these dispute settlement procedures. This also applies to the relevant documents in an arbitration.
Canada always makes these documents public, subject to the protection of confidential information. What is more, the results of arbitrations will always be made publicly available. It is also important for me to note that in any foreign investment promotion and protection agreement, we take steps to ensure that we maintain full policy flexibility in key areas.
Parties at all levels of government maintain their ability to regulate and legislate in areas such as the environment, culture, safety, health and conservation. All investors and their investments, whether domestic or foreign, will face the same requirements with respect to existing local laws and regulations.
A foreign investor and their investments in Canada must respect existing Canadian laws and regulations just like any Canadian must. This includes laws aimed at protecting the environment and those ensuring the highest labour, health, building and safety standards.
As such, and as is the case with all proposed foreign investments of significance in Canada, we will continue to use the Investment Canada Act to ensure that investments from any foreign country, including China, bring concrete benefits to Canadians. Our FIPA with China will not in any way impede our ability to do so. This means helping to create more jobs, foster innovation and increase Canada's competitiveness and productivity. These are elements that we include in all 24 of our foreign investment promotion and protection agreements that are currently in force.
Our foreign investment promotion and protection agreements allow investors to invest with confidence and confident investors contribute to the growth and investment both inbound and outbound, and growth in investment always benefits the Canadian economy. In fact, two-way investment is an absolutely critical driving force in today's global economy. Investment links our businesses to global value chains and to the technology and expertise they need to forge a wide-range of commercial links with our partners around the globe.
However, the risk of investing in a foreign country can be high. That is why our government negotiates FIPAs to ensure that Canadian investors abroad have access to a predictable, secure investment climate. It is designed first and foremost to protect Canadian investments abroad through legally binding provisions.
By ensuring greater protection against discriminatory and arbitrary practices and enhancing the predictability of a policy framework in markets abroad, a FIPA allows businesses to invest with greater confidence. As such, these agreements provide a more transparent and predictable climate for Canadian investors abroad.
Investment with our partners, inward and outward, is enormously important and so is promoting and protecting these investments through tools such as a foreign investment promotion and protection agreement. If Canada can establish a strong rules-based bilateral investment relationship with a country before some of our closest competitors, it will give our companies an advantage in doing business in that market and it will serve to benefit our own industries right here at home.
It is a shame that the NDP members and their anti-trade allies continue to propagate myths about these agreements. Their archaic anti-trade ideology would stifle the Canadian economy and slam the door on opportunities for Canadian exporters around the world. The NDP has shown its true colours on trade ever since NAFTA, which it opposed 25 years ago, and astonishingly enough still opposes to this day.
Let me be clear. Our government will not stand by and let Canadian companies operate in an uneven playing field. We will work to ensure that businesses have what they need to flourish domestically and compete abroad. This is why, on behalf of my constituents of the great town of Richmond Hill, I am happy to support this agreement.