Mr. Speaker, as chair of the Canadian section of ParlAmericas, I have had the honour of hosting a luncheon today for a delegation of Chilean deputados.
Canada has had a long-standing diplomatic relationship with Chile, since 1940. In 1997, the Canada–Chile free trade agreement came into force, eliminating tariffs on 75% of the goods traded between our two countries. This remains a historic moment, as it marked Canada's first bilateral free trade agreement in South America, and the first of many trade agreements for Chile.
Canada has maintained close diplomatic relations, as shown by the Prime Minister's two visits to Chile, the first of which was in 2007, when he announced the Canada–Chile partnership framework, and the most recent in 2012, to enhance Canada's Chile free trade agreement. The results are that bilateral trade has more than tripled, reaching almost $3 billion in 2011. Between 2002 and 2011, Canada was the largest source of new investment for Chile.
With the signing of the most recent FTA, our government is proudly demonstrating its resolve to keep developing relations with like-minded partners in the hemisphere.