Mr. Speaker, I agree with the member for Kelowna—Lake Country on one point, and that is throwing out the FIPA is not the answer but we should fix the flaws.
The member said “our government” a number of times, so I think he would know the answer to the question I am about to ask.
One of the member's favourite witnesses, Mr. Van Harten, has indicated that Canada is responsible for any obligations under the international treaty. In other words, Canadian taxpayers would be responsible for decisions made at a provincial level that may be in violation of this agreement. Has the federal government given any undertakings to provinces, municipalities and first nations that it will in fact cover all financial liabilities arising from an arbitration or award that is triggered by a provincial, municipal or first nation decision? That is a serious issue.
We need to know that. We need to know the flaws and we need to know solutions to them. If a first nation, municipality or province makes a decision that is in violation and causes a liability to a business, is the Canadian government responsible for that? Has the member's government notified those jurisdictions of such?