Mr. Speaker, the minister should talk to Hungary and Greece, which both just said that they would not ratify the deal.
The minister's rhetoric does not match the facts. According to the World Economic Forum 2014 rankings of 138 countries, Canada is 48th in predictability of import procedures, 95th in cost of imports and 97th in tariff complexity. We have also slipped from 15th to 23rd in exports to important Asian markets. That is the real Conservative poor record on trade.
The minister will not even give Canadians a straight answer on whether or not the Chinese are seeking a trade agreement with Canada, so I am asking him here. Did China offer Canada an opportunity to open bilateral trade negotiations, as the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada has publicly stated, or not?