Mr. Speaker, I have listened with great interest to the presentations on this particular bill.
What I find really puzzling is the official opposition is being faulted as supposedly being the only one raising concerns with the trade agreement with Honduras. Yet, I am informed that a report commissioned by Carleton University, written by such wild and crazy people as Derek Burney and Thomas d'Aquino, in consultation with Canadians, recommended that Ottawa should instead focus its attention on negotiations with major nations, where we are going to substantially benefit from.
In the report was the suggestion that the Honduras agreement will, if passed, contribute exactly 71 minutes of trade for Canada. It really raises a question about all the time, energy, and taxpayers' money we are spending in negotiating a trade deal of this extent.
One of the previous members of the government who spoke raised the fact that there is a wonderful environmental side agreement to this trade deal. Frankly, there is not a wonderful side agreement. Continuously, the government has downgraded the environmental side agreements. The fact that it is a side agreement and is not included as a binding condition is enough. There is no permanent council of environment ministers. There is no full-time secretariat. There is no duty for effective environmental enforcement.
How does the member defend this? Does he believe that trade agreements should be even further downgraded since NAFTA?