moved:
Motion No. 1
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 1.
Motion No. 2
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 2.
Motion No. 3
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 3.
Motion No. 4
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 4.
Motion No. 5
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 5.
Motion No. 6
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 6.
Motion No. 7
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 7.
Motion No. 8
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 8.
Motion No. 9
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 9.
Motion No. 10
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 10.
Motion No. 11
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 11.
Motion No. 12
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 12.
Motion No. 13
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 13.
Motion No. 14
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 14.
Motion No. 15
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 15.
Motion No. 16
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 16.
Motion No. 17
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 17.
Motion No. 18
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 18.
Motion No. 19
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 19.
Motion No. 20
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 20.
Motion No. 21
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 21.
Motion No. 22
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 22.
Motion No. 23
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 23.
Motion No. 24
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 24.
Motion No. 25
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 25.
Motion No. 26
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 26.
Motion No. 27
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 27.
Motion No. 28
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 28.
Motion No. 29
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 29.
Motion No. 30
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 30.
Motion No. 31
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 31.
Motion No. 32
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 32.
Motion No. 33
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 33.
Motion No. 34
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 34.
Motion No. 35
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 35.
Motion No. 36
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 36.
Motion No. 37
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 37.
Motion No. 38
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 38.
Motion No. 39
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 39.
Motion No. 40
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 40.
Motion No. 41
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 41.
Motion No. 42
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 42.
Motion No. 43
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 43.
Motion No. 44
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 44.
Motion No. 45
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 45.
Motion No. 46
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 46.
Motion No. 47
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 47.
Motion No. 48
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 48.
Motion No. 49
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 49.
Motion No. 50
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 50.
Motion No. 51
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 51.
Motion No. 52
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 52.
Motion No. 53
That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting Clause 53.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House to speak to the amendments we are proposing.
Bill C-20 does not reflect the approach we will take when we form the government in 2015. Our approach to international trade is different from the other parties' because we accord it more importance.
Before becoming an MP, I managed a business that was starting to sell specialty goods on its website in order to reach a broader market in Canada. When the company started getting orders from Europe and the United States, it started exporting.
Exporting companies in Canada do not get very much support at all. The data speak for themselves, especially when we compare Canada to European Union countries, the United States, and Australia.
Canada spends $12 million to $13 million a year to support its exporting companies. Australia, which has a much smaller economy than Canada's, strongly supports its exporting companies by investing $500 million in them. That is a considerable difference. For every dollar the Canadian government spends on supporting exporting companies, the Australians spend $50 on supporting theirs.
The same goes for the United States and the European Union. The countries that are enjoying real success when it comes to international trade are investing in their exporting companies.
That is not what happens here in Canada. The Conservatives would argue that they bring forward trade agreements and that it is all they need to do. However, when we look at the figures, we can see that the idea that just bringing forward trade agreements is somehow a guarantee of prosperity is very clearly denied by the facts.
First off, we know, and you know, Mr. Speaker, coming from an area of this country that has been devastated by some of the policies of the current government, that we have lost 500,000 full-time, family-sustaining jobs in manufacturing since the Conservative government came to power. That is appalling. The Conservatives would say that they have created some part-time jobs. As we know, at the end of December 2013, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce produced a very accurate and effective report that talked about job creation under the current government. It said that in 2013, 95% of the jobs that were created were part time.
We have lost half a million full-time, family-sustaining manufacturing jobs. The government has tried to replace them with part-time jobs and temporary foreign workers, but the reality is that in the end, the communities are much further behind. Since the Conservative government has come to power, there have been 300,000 more Canadians looking for work, about 1.3 million in total, than there were when the government assumed office. We are seeing increasing unemployment and a colossal loss of manufacturing capacity and jobs, and at the same time, we are seeing that the government has put in place strategies that create only part-time jobs.
The government would then defend itself by saying that it has signed some trade agreements, and that is a guarantee of future prosperity. I have the figures here of some of the countries with whom we have signed trade agreements and what has actually happened in terms of our balance of payments. When we look at Canada's balance of international payments, we are in record deficit under the current government. What that means is that we are importing far more from other countries than we are actually exporting. Our exports are stalled in part because of the devastation in manufacturing capacity. We have a record level of deficit in our balance of international payments.
When we look at merchandise trade with these countries we have signed free trade agreements with, we see in each case that Canada is actually in a deficit with each one. In Mexico, we are in deficit, and that deficit is growing. In Israel, we are in deficit, and that deficit is growing. With Chile, we are in deficit, and the deficit is growing. In Costa Rica, we are in deficit, and, again, the deficit is growing. Even with Switzerland, we are in trade deficit, and the deficit is growing. If we look at the countries of the European Free Trade Association, we see again a deficit. We see a deficit between Canada and Peru, and the deficit is growing.
The reality is that the government has signed agreements that have been very poorly negotiated, in many cases, and with regimes that do not reflect Canadian values, notably Colombia, where human rights violations have actually increased since the signing of the trade agreement. The fact is that the Conservatives cannot point to successes. We see in virtually every single case that we are in trade deficit, which explains the record deficit around international payments. We can see that the Conservative approach is just not working.
That is why we are offering a whole series of amendments today. What we are saying is that the government really needs to take a new approach when we have lost half a million manufacturing jobs and when its sole achievement is to say that 95% of the jobs it creates are part-time. People cannot pay their mortgages with a part-time job. They cannot put food on the table every day with a part-time job.
Conservatives would suggest they could take two, three, four, or five part-time jobs and maybe cobble together a full-time income. That is really not what Canadians expect. What Canadians expect is a government that actually cares about their economic prosperity and instead of signing poorly negotiated agreements, actually puts in place a trade strategy that includes—and this is extremely important—addressing the fact that Canada does almost nothing to support major exporting enterprises and businesses in our country. When we see Australia spending $500 million and Canada spending $12 million to $13 million—we have never been able to get the exact figure from the government—that shows a crucial lack of support for the export sector.
I come from Burnaby—New Westminster, which is the most diverse riding in the entire country, even though my colleague from Newton—North Delta will probably try to disagree with me on that. We have over a hundred languages spoken and diasporas from around the world. These are people who have come to Canada to build their lives here. We have important components of populations coming from Asia, Africa, South America, and Europe. The business trade organizations that many of these new Canadians set up to try to stimulate trade with their countries of origin are getting no support from the government at all.
There again we see another reason we are in deficit everywhere and bleeding red ink everywhere. The government really thinks that a ribbon-cutting ceremony or signing a trade agreement, no matter how poorly negotiated, is sufficient. It does not do any follow-up.
Mr. Speaker, I know you will be appalled by this situation. I can see it on your face. The fact that the government does not even do studies, prior to and afterwards, on the impact of the agreements shows how improvised it is. The approach of the Conservatives is improvised, and that is why it has been a failure.
In closing, I would like to say one last thing about Bill C-20. I will quote Carmen Cheung, a researcher at the International Human Rights Program:
These past five years have seen a dramatic erosion in protections for expressive life in Honduras. Journalists are threatened, they're harassed, attacked, and murdered with near impunity, and sometimes in circumstances that strongly suggest the involvement of state agents.
In my opinion, these are systematic violations, and my colleagues who will be speaking shortly will also quote experts who raised these points in committee.
It is clear that Canadians will not support this agreement.