Mr. Speaker, I enjoy working with my hon. colleague on the committee. We grew up in the same city of Edmonton and I know that he has a law degree and is very familiar with these contracts and knows the importance of working together.
There have been about 18 years of negotiating going back and forth, so this agreement did not happen overnight. The rules and disciplines established by the FIPA are reciprocal and they apply equally to both parties. That is a fact, that at the present time and likely in the future Chinese investment in Canada is and will continue to be greater than Canadian investment in China. Therefore, it is important that the treaty establishes, as I said, the stable predictable investment environment in China for Canadians.
The bigger question is this. My hon. colleague has been talking about supporting the fact of helping out China. I do not understand. Is he saying that it is better for Canada to continue to expect taxpayers to fund foreign aid to China, the second-largest economy in the world?