Debates of Nov. 21st, 2016

Questions Passed as Orders for Returns

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

Question No. 531

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

With regard to the Future Fighter Capability project: (a) what are the statements of requirements for the (i) Air-to-Air (A/A)capabilities, (ii) Air-to-Ground (A/G)capabilities , (iii) Air-to-Surface (ASu) capabilities, (iv) non-traditional Intelligence, (v) Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), (vi) interoperability with other nations; (b) how many employees work on this project from (i) the Department of National Defence, (ii) Public Services and Procurement Canada, (iii) Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, (iv) all other departments and agencies of the government, (v) private organizations outside of the government; (c) how many employees have signed non-disclosure agreements, broken down by employees of (i) the Department of National Defence, (ii) Public Services and Procurement Canada, (iii) Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (iv) all other departments and agencies of the government, (v)private organizations outside of the government; and (d) what is the length of each non-disclosure agreement signed by employees of the Future Fighter Capability project?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 533

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK]

With regard to Minister's offices: what is the approved budget for each office, including the Prime Minister's office, for the 2016-17 fiscal year, broken down by individual Minister?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 535

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK]

With regard to “consultation kits” developed by the government, since November 4, 2015, broken down by department or agency: (a) what are all costs associated with the production, development, or promotion of such kits, broken down by individual kit or project; (b) what are the titles or subject matter of each kit; and (c) what are the details of any contracts associated with the production of such kits, including (i) date of contract, (ii) original contract value, (iii) vendor name, (iv) file number, (v) final contract value?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 536

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK]

With regard to the carbon price plan announced by the Prime Minister: (a) what total revenue does the government predict a $50 per tonne price will bring in for federal or provincial governments, broken down by province; (b) what is the estimated cost of a $50 per tonne price to an average family; (c) how much will a $50 per tonne price cost per litre of gasoline; (d) has the government produced economic impact studies on the impact of a $50 per tonne carbon price on the Canadian economy in general and specifically on the following sectors (i) agriculture, (ii) mining, (iii) oil and gas, (iv) construction, (v) manufacturing; and (e) if the answer to (d) is affirmative, what are the specific details of each study including (i) dates and duration of study, (ii) file number, (iii) who conducted the study, (iv) specific findings, (v) who ordered the study, (vi) details of any costs or contracts associated with each study?

(Return tabled)

Questions Passed as Orders for Returns

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I would ask that the remaining questions be allowed to stand at this time.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

The House resumed consideration of the motion that Bill C-30, An Act to implement the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between Canada and the European Union and its Member States and to provide for certain other measures, be read the second time and referred to a committee.

Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement Implementation Act

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak to what is truly an historic trade agreement between Canada and the European Union. I want to begin by extending congratulations, because these kinds of negotiations of free trade agreements, at the best of times, are difficult. When there is an agreement like CETA, which is so complex, it is very difficult to get it to the finish line.

I want to extend congratulations to the Prime Minister and also to his international trade minister for doggedly pushing this file forward. It is this close to the finish line. It is not quite there yet, but it is oh so close.

I also want to thank former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who had the foresight and courage to move ahead with negotiations at a time when many naysayers said that this could not be done. In fact, I recall during these negotiations, which I led for four and a half years, many times when people would come up and say that there was no way we were going to be able to address an issue, and there was no way we would be able to open up agricultural access to the European Union.

Each step along the way, Prime Minister Stephen Harper had our backs. He had the back of our team in making sure we got this done. Our country owes Stephen Harper a tremendous debt of gratitude for his remarkable achievement.

I also want to thank my former cabinet colleagues for enthusiastically supporting this agreement every single step of the way and for providing helpful advice in their areas of expertise. I especially want to congratulate and thank my colleague, the member for Battlefords—Lloydminster, who was the minister of agriculture as our previous Conservative government was negotiating this agreement. He worked on one of the most difficult provisions in this agreement, which is agricultural access to the European Union, and also addressed some of the sensitivities on the Canadian side. He was able to get it done in a way that our stakeholders ended up strongly supporting this agreement.

I am pleased to see that he is now the official opposition's trade critic, holding the Liberal government's feet to the fire as they try to defend and promote Canada's trade interests around the world.

I also wanted to thank chief negotiator Steve Verheul and his large team of sectoral negotiators for a job very well done. These are some of our best Canadian negotiators. They represent the very best Canada has to offer. Their advice is not only sought by us as governments here in Canada but is sought around the world, because Canada is a kinder, gentler, more flexible negotiating partner. However, we are firm. We have resolve when we negotiate. The standard we have set is that we will not negotiate a trade agreement unless it is in Canada's national interest.

I also want to thank my friend, the former premier of Quebec Jean Charest, for first imagining what was possible and then inspiring us to take the first step in broadening our economic partnership with the European Union. That is exactly what this trade agreement achieves. It represents a broadening of our economic partnership with the European Union in a way that many of us could not have imagined a decade ago.

I want to just walk through this agreement. First of all, I want to talk about the agreement itself, the deal, and then the beneficiaries of this agreement. I want to talk about the opportunity this represents for Canadians and also the challenges we still face in getting this agreement over the line.

This agreement is the most comprehensive the world has ever seen. I say that without reservation. It delves into areas that were never considered before as being possible within a trade agreement.

This agreement has been compared to the North American Free Trade Agreement, and I would admit that NAFTA is still the definitive trade agreement between Canada and its two North American partners. Because of the scope and size of that relationship, it also dwarfs all the other trade relationships we have around the world.

CETA is much more comprehensive. It is a complex agreement. It means that it took longer to negotiate because of the complexities and because we needed to have this agreement be in Canada's national interest.

I recall on a number of occasions when we, the Canadian team of negotiators, had to leave the table. We had to say that the deal on the table was not in Canada's interest. Then a month or two later, we would go back and the other side would come back, and we would come up with new approaches to some of the obstacles that faced us, and we would find ways through those obstacles.

This agreement is complex because of the novel and bold approaches the two sides agreed to take. For example, in negotiating expanded services access, services like engineering, digital technology, and information technology, we want to make sure that Canadians have an expanded marketplace in the world to sell high-quality services into. For the first time ever, Canada and the EU agreed to use a negative list approach to negotiating services. What that means is that if a service is not included on the list of approved services for additional market access, or if it is not specifically excluded, any future services that might be developed in a rapidly evolving global marketplace would be captured by this agreement and would be provided full access into the EU and Canada. That is unique in this agreement.

What else is unique is that for the first time ever, Canada had its provinces and territories at the negotiating table when it came to areas of their sole or shared jurisdiction. What this allowed us to do was to secure outcomes that none of our trade agreements before had ever secured. There was, for example, an outcome on government procurement. When a government goes out and solicits contracts for services, for properties, or goods and services, whenever that happens, typically governments protect their home market. What we have done is expanded government procurement access for Canadian companies to start bidding on projects within the European Union, the world's largest service market. Again, we were able to come up with a highly ambitious outcome on government procurement.

We know that trade, when done right, benefits all partners and has the potential to raise living standards and prosperity all around the world. That is also why we took great care in negotiating outcomes in things such as goods trade; services trade; technical barriers to trade; labour mobility; the environment, which Canadians care very much about; intellectual property and protecting our innovators; geographical indications; and as I mentioned, government procurement.

For example, in the area of trade in goods, which includes things such as agricultural products, automobiles, and fish and seafood, we have some of the best quality fish and seafood products in the world. When it comes to forestry products, and equipment and machinery, we have opened up the marketplace in the EU for those products. We would be eliminating 98% of all tariffs that presently face Canadian exporters within the European marketplace, including the 10% tariff on Canadian cars when they are sold in that market. That is good news for our auto industry.

This agreement is also very special because it provides Canada with unique global market access to both the European Union and the United States. We already have a free trade agreement, NAFTA, with the United States and Mexico, but we are the first major economy in the world to also have a free trade agreement with the European Union, a marketplace of over 500 million consumers. This is a huge advantage for Canada.

We also negotiated services. The question we had to ask was where does Canada's comparative advantage lie? Where does Canada, as a highly developed, highly educated, highly innovative country have an advantage? It is not in manually sitting on a production line, putting together widgets. That is not the future for Canada. The future for Canada is in the knowledge economy. That is where our future prosperity lies. It is in areas such as engineering, digital animation, gaming, health services, education, cybersecurity, information technology, and so many other areas that have high-paying jobs and are the economy of the future.

Let me give the example of engineering. Did members know that Canada is the third-largest exporter of engineering services in the world? We are a country with a small population of 35 million in a global marketplace of seven billion people up against giants like Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan, and the United States, and we rank third. These are high-paying jobs. Canadians are carving out a reputation for their innovation and excellence and the quality of the services they provide. This trade agreement would dramatically improve the export potential of these services.

Let me talk a bit about the beneficiaries of this agreement.

Of course, there are the manufacturers and the exporters who want to access the European marketplace but who have, for so many years, been unable to do so because of high tariffs and very high non-tariff barriers, meaning all the rules and regulations and standards behind the borders that frustrate our exporters and provide protection for European companies. In large part, we are addressing those challenges both on the tariff and non-tariff sides. It is good news for manufacturers and for exporters.

It also means greater mobility for the workforce that our manufacturers have. The ability to move professionals back and forth between our two trading partners and to move senior management personnel back and forth seamlessly has been improved in this agreement.

Investors will be very happy because if the investor-state dispute settlement measures are in fact brought into force, our investors would have greater protection against discrimination and expropriation without compensation within the European Union.

I have already mentioned our service providers and what a huge market they would now have available to them. They are going to be very happy.

Then there are those who sometimes slip through the cracks, and those are Canada's consumers. When we remove tariff barriers on the European side, what happens? We get access to their marketplace. We would also remove tariff barriers on the Canadian side, which means Canadian consumers would have access to better-quality products at better prices, improving their value proposition. This is excellent news for Canada's consumers, who are trying to make the buck stretch a little farther. That is what we would accommodate here.

Some people have said that there are going to be winners and losers. Certainly there are going to be a lot of winners under this agreement. When we witness the hundreds of industry stakeholders and the owners of thousands of companies across Canada who have voiced support for this trade agreement with the European Union, clearly there would be many winners in this agreement. But we live in a rapidly changing world where creative disruption is becoming the norm, and Canadians must be ready and willing to adapt. I know there are going to be many winners under this agreement. There will also be some who will be adaptors, who will have to adapt.

Let me give an example of why I believe Canadians are up to this challenge. When the Canada–U.S. Free Trade Agreement was being negotiated some 25 years ago, the wine industry in Canada said that the government could not open up the border to U.S. wines, that it would cause the industry to go bankrupt, that the industry would be lost, that it would be over. The government of the day, Brian Mulroney's Conservative government, at least had the vision and the understanding of what Canadians were capable of. The agreement came into force and the industry stakeholders decided to reinvest in who they are as a wine industry. They invested in technology, in knowledge, and decided simply to get better at what they do here in Canada when it comes to the wine industry. Today, 25 years later, we have a world-ranking wine industry, not because we are protecting the industry with artificial barriers but because the people in the industry are simply good at what they do. They are among the very best in the world, winning awards all over the world. To those Canadians who may find themselves adapting to this agreement, take courage. We are innovative as Canadians. We can address changes in the evolving global marketplace, and this agreement would certainly achieve that.

Let me talk about the opportunity.

As with all other trade negotiations, CETA was a very difficult one. In fact, it was among our most difficult negotiations, because of the high level of ambition of both the European Union and Canada in the negotiations. It was a highly complex negotiation, one that involved new and novel approaches.

We now have this agreement almost in place, and it puts Canada in the enviable position, as I mentioned earlier, of having a free trade agreement with both the European Union and the United States. Let us think of the advantage that Canadian companies now have over the United States. The United States is one of our fiercest competitors. It does not have a free trade agreement with the European Union. It started negotiating one that has badly stalled. Now with the election of President-elect Donald Trump, we expect that there will be very little, if any, further movement on negotiating a trade agreement between the United States and the EU, which they called TTIP. That means that Canadian companies now have a once in a lifetime advantage over their American competitors to access the European market. That is why we are encouraging them to get out there and be proactive, and start exploring the European marketplace.

It is also a huge opportunity for us to attract investment from parts of the world that traditionally have not looked at Canada, because we now have a truly competitive investment advantage over other countries around the world, having access to a consumer market, including the U.S. and EU, of 800 million consumers.

Are there still challenges? Of course there are. CETA has not yet passed the European Parliament. We expect that will happen this December. I am hoping that it will in fact pass. It is also now generally acknowledged that the CETA that the government negotiated is actually a lesser agreement than what our Conservative government had originally negotiated. For whatever reason, the Liberal government agreed to reopen discussions. I fear that the investor-state dispute settlement part is going to end up falling by the wayside because it is are no longer part of provisional coming into force of the agreement. The regional governments throughout Europe will now have a say in whether they approve of that. My concern is that it will never see the light of day. I believe this may be a lesser agreement than we had bargained.

I also note that the European Union agreed to provide its regional governments with agricultural safeguards to protect against import surges, something we did not expect to happen. It is not clear what impact that provision is going to have on our agricultural producers, like the beef and pork exporters in Canada. There is also further work required to address some of the behind-the-border issues, the sanitary and phytosanitary standards that concern our producers.

I also note that the compensation package that our government had announced for the dairy producers is now being abandoned by the Liberal government. It is a lesser package that they are offering to the dairy industry. We are very disappointed in that.

Finally, we also have to inspire our small and medium-sized businesses to take advantage of this agreement. Canadians are notoriously cautious when it comes to expanding their export and trade horizons. I would just encourage Canadian companies, that if they are going to go to one source, go to the point source for information on trade in Canada. That is our Trade Commissioner Service. I got to know these folks well. They are some of the very best professionals, the most knowledgeable trade experts in the world. There is about 1,000 of them across Canada and around the world in 150 offices with one goal, to promote Canadian businesses and Canadian business interests all around the world. Businesses should go to the Trade Commissioner Service if they are looking for opportunities.

This free trade agreement is about a bold, new future for Canada. Let me be clear that trade is not for the weak-kneed or the faint of heart. It is not for the timid or for those who cower in the face of adversity. It is not for the skeptics and scoffers. I note there are some in the corner of the House today. There is a tinfoil hat brigade in the corner of the House that does not understand trade and the opportunities to use trade to grow our national prosperity.

Trade is for champions. It is for people who measure and take calculated risks, who venture beyond the status quo and beyond the same old, same old. It is for visionaries who seize opportunity when it comes knocking, and achieve extraordinary results for the people they serve, their companies, their employees, and their country.

I am honoured to be surrounded today by many of my colleagues who share that vision of trade, who are champions in their own right, and who are prepared to do the heavy lifting to ensure that CETA lifts Canada up to unprecedented prosperity.

Let us get to work. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Canadians we represent. Let us not squander that advantage.

[David Lametti, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his work on this file. It is truly a pleasure on our part to have taken up this torch and brought it home.

I want to tap in on my colleague's wealth of experience. He mentioned NAFTA and when it was negotiated. I cannot admit to being that old to remember it as well as he does, but perhaps he could give us suggestions in terms of the implementation of CETA and how we could make it benefit our small and medium-sized enterprises.

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his hard work in finally moving this agreement close to the finish line.

I mentioned the Trade Commissioner Service. Industry organizations across the country that represent different industrial sectors have been highly engaged in the negotiations of this free trade agreement. Many of our companies across Canada are members of those associations, whether it is the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, the CFIB, or the Canadian Association of Importers and Exporters. These are all organizations that have engaged in raising awareness of the opportunities that this trade agreement presents among our small and medium-sized businesses.

Since the member mentioned NAFTA, I will note that back when the North American Free Trade Agreement was being negotiated, the Liberal Party of Canada was against it. The Liberal Party of Canada fought against that agreement every step along the way. That party said we were going to lose our health care system and our pension system. It said we were going to hollow out our economy and that our culture would be gone. Of course, none of that happened.

There is one party in the House that understands trade and the opportunities that trade represents for Canadians, and that is this Conservative Party.

[Alistair MacGregor, NDP, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, as a proud member of the party in this corner of the House, I will unapologetically stand up for those Canadians who do have concerns about these trade deals. While we may disagree on this issue, out of respect for all the views that Canadians have, we should at least try to bring some respect to this place about those different viewpoints.

However, in an effort to turn this conversation in a more collegial route, I want to ask the member a question. He has a lot of experience on this file. I want to bring his attention to the specifics of one country, and that is the United Kingdom. As he may very well be aware, 42% of Canada's exports to the EU go to the U.K., and a large part of the CETA negotiations were based on the premise that the U.K. would still be a part of CETA. The Liberal government has not properly evaluated CETA without the U.K. If the U.K. triggers its exit from the EU and leaves CETA, is my colleague comfortable with the concessions that Canada has made in CETA, given that the U.K. represents nearly half of Canada's exports to the EU?

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, let me first of all commend that member for his good understanding of what CETA entails and what the possible consequences of Brexit could be on this agreement.

I have been involved in some public fora where I have expressed my concern over what Brexit will mean for the Canada-EU free trade agreement. If the U.K. exits, what happens to the market access that we had expected to get? The U.K. is our largest export market in the European Union. Canada's trade relationship with the United Kingdom is one of its most significant trade relationships, so Brexit puts us into uncharted waters. This agreement had essentially been negotiated before Brexit. There were not a lot of people who expected Brexit to happen, but it did.

The member is asking me what the impacts would be if the U.K. exits the agreement and whether I believe that the Liberal government has undertaken the due diligence to understand what this means. I do not know. I am skeptical as to whether the government has done that work. When we were dealing with carbon pricing and a carbon tax, the Prime Minister made it clear that the government did no economic impact analysis on that. I suspect that the announcement the government made about abandoning coal-fired electricity had no economic impact analysis. I suspect that the Brexit impact on this trade negotiation with the EU has also not been well understood by the Liberal government, so I share my colleague's concerns.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his great speech, with some great information, and thank him as well on behalf of the residents of southern Alberta for how hard he worked on effecting this deal.

My riding of Foothills is the heart of cattle country, the home of Alberta beef, some of the best malting barley in the world, and metallurgical coal. The stakeholders in my riding are very excited about the opportunity to see the new markets this will bring.

I realize how hard they worked to bring this, but I also understand how close this came to collapsing because of the meddling, let us say, of the Liberal government. Residents of my riding were very concerned about almost losing CETA, despite our doing all the work in getting it almost to the finish line. There are now very legitimate concerns that the Liberals will do much the same with the trans-Pacific partnership. Ranchers, farmers, miners, and energy workers are very excited to also see that come to fruition.

I ask my colleague if he shares those same concerns, that meddling with the CETA agreement, which has also been agreed upon in principle, may happen to TPP.

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, unlike the Canada-European free trade agreement, the Liberals have not actually come out and said that they support the trans-Pacific partnership. Boy, that would be sad if we were not part of that agreement, if and when it gets ratified.

We are talking about 12 countries representing forward-looking trading partnerships, like Australia and New Zealand. Why would we not want to have a trade agreement with those countries? Japan is the third-largest economy in the world. Why would we not want to have a trade agreement with Japan, to open up new markets for Canadian exporters, especially agricultural producers. Unfortunately, there has been deafening silence on the Liberal side.

When it comes to agriculture, of course, there are some challenges that our agricultural producers face under CETA. We have not yet fully negotiated some of the behind the border standards, and rules and regulations, the sanitary and phytosanitary issues, that bedevil our agricultural exporters.

Unfortunately, as part of this negotiation, the Liberal government opened up the door to the EU actually applying safeguards for import surges, as I mentioned in my speech. We do not know what impact that will have on our producers, such as the beef and pork exporters in Canada.

We are still looking to see what that looks like. It was unfortunate that agreement was opened up as much as it has been. However, it is important for us to focus today on the fact that legislation is before us. If it is passed and this agreement is ratified, it will still be of remarkable benefit to Canadians and our long-term prosperity.

[Kyle Peterson, Liberal, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his contribution to the debate today. It is great to hear him speak to it. I have the pleasure of serving on the trade committee with some of his colleagues as well,. They can attest that I actually credited the member for his great work in getting the agreement to where we are today, as well as his colleague from Battlefords—Lloydminster. I also gave him some credit for his work.

I do thank the member for his mostly magnanimous speech today, and I want to give him the opportunity to comment on some of the opponents of CETA, and perhaps opponents of free trade in general, and how perhaps some of their fears are not founded, how we can work together to make sure we can alleviate some of these fears, and let them know that this agreement will work for all Canadians.

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I did refer to some of the naysayers in this House as being skeptics and scoffers, and they are exactly that. I do not apologize for that comment at all. These are people who do not understand the role that trade plays in Canada's national prosperity. They have continued to opine that Canada will lose its cultural identity, that we will lose our health care system, that we will lose our pension system, that our economy will be hollowed out, millions of jobs would be lost.

It has been over 25 years that we have had the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA. None of that has happened. History has shown that when trade is done right, it has the capacity to enhance the standard of living for millions and millions of people, not only in Canada, but around the world.

I am encouraging the NDP in this House, for once, to sit down and come up with a coherent trade policy. It supported trade agreements with Jordan and South Korea. However, with one of the most like-minded trading partners, the European Union, New Democrats are now saying no. No one can make sense of their trade policy, so I am asking them to go back to the design board to see if they can get this right.

[David Lametti, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, it is a great pleasure to rise in the House today in support of the legislation before us. Hon. members will know that CETA is the most progressive trade agreement that Canada has ever negotiated. It will help to further our economy, create well-paying jobs in Canada as well as in Europe, and support our efforts to strengthen the middle class, all the while ensuring that trade benefits everyone.

Canada's great friendship with the European Union goes back many years. In fact, Canada's formal relationship is the EU's oldest with any industrialized country, dating back to 1959, when we signed the agreement for co-operation in the peaceful uses of atomic energy. Of course, there are many cultural and people-to-people ties that date back for centuries and serve to underline our common history and many partnerships.

We have always been close partners, and not only because millions of Canadians, like me, trace their family roots back to Europe, but also because there is a palpable buzz among these communities. I was in Toronto on Friday evening at an Italian Canadian chamber of commerce event, in a room full of importers and exporters, people who have business ties with Europe. They were clearly very positive about the opportunities that this agreement would present.

Canada and Europe are united because our societies, economies, and systems of governance are founded on the same set of values, such as equality, freedom, and respect for all individuals in society, not to mention democracy. Canada and the EU co-operate on many crucial international issues, including climate change, democratic governance, and human rights, as well as international peace and security. In a world of shifting global power, the Canada–EU relationship and our common efforts are more important than ever. This is something I heard a great deal about while travelling in Europe to promote CETA.

The EU is also a very important economic partner, representing the world's second-largest economy, and Canada's second-largest trading partner after the United States. It is also the world's second-largest importing market for goods, with its annual imports alone worth more than all of Canada's GDP.

As well, the EU is a key market for global supply chains. It has more Fortune 500 companies than any other country in the world, including the United States. This significant access to global supply chains is an important avenue of opportunity for the global ambitions of many of Canada's small and medium-sized enterprises.

CETA would help Canadian businesses better access the EU market. It will deepen our long-standing relations. It will help to generate much-needed growth and jobs while fully upholding Canada and Europe's high standards in areas like food safety, environmental protection, and workers' rights. CETA will deliver benefits for consumers through lower prices and more choice, for workers, through more and better jobs related to exports, and for businesses, through reduced costs and tariffs.

Experts project that once CETA comes into force bilateral trade of goods and services will increase by more than 22%, which will stimulate job growth on both sides of the Atlantic. Canadian businesses will enjoy a first-mover advantage over their competitors from markets such as the United States, which has yet to conclude a trade agreement with the European Union. In fact, CETA and NAFTA combined give Canada preferential access to nearly half the global marketplace.

Once CETA comes into force it will cover almost every sector and aspect related to trade between Canada and the European Union. Roughly 98% of European Union tariff lines on Canadian merchandise will be duty-free as soon as the agreement comes into force, and an additional 1% will be cut over a seven-year phase-out period.

Eliminating duties under CETA will create better opportunities for countless Canadian exports to the EU, where duties remain high. Currently, Canadian exporters of fish and seafood pay duties as high as 25%. EU duties on wood are 8%, while duties on wood products, information technology, and communications technology can be as high as 14%.

Machinery and equipment are subject to tariffs of up to 8% when imported to the European Union. CETA will eliminate those tariffs. What is more, Canadian service providers will benefit from the greatest access the EU, the world’s largest importer of services, has ever provided in a trade agreement, as well as the most ambitious commitments on temporary entry the EU has ever provided.

Canada is one of the largest service exporters in the world. We exported nearly $16 billion-worth of services to the EU in 2015. CETA will ensure that Canadian service providers are able to compete on a level playing field with EU service providers and gain a competitive advantage over competitors from nations outside the European Union.

In addition to increased access to markets, CETA also contains many other important measures. It is the first bilateral agreement in which Canada has included a stand-alone chapter on regulatory co-operation. The provisions set out in that chapter are forward-looking and promote proactive co-operation.

Under a protocol on conformity assessment, Canadian manufacturers in some sectors will be able to test and certify their products in Canada for sale in the European Union. This is an important innovation that will save companies time and money and will be particularly profitable for small and medium-sized businesses.

CETA includes a detailed framework for the mutual recognition of professional qualifications, a key aspect of labour mobility. The provinces made a valuable contribution to the negotiations on a matter under their jurisdiction, as did my former professor, Pierre Marc Johnson, chief negotiator for Quebec.

CETA provisions on labour mobility will enable entrepreneurs from Canada and the European Union to travel abroad more easily. Business people on short-term visits, individuals transferred within a company, investors, contract service providers, and independent professionals will be able to do business in the EU more easily.

CETA also opens up government procurement opportunities in the European Union, a sector worth about $3.3 trillion. When CETA comes into force, Canadian companies will be able to provide goods and certain services to all levels of government in the EU, including the 28 European Union member states and thousands of government, regional, and local organizations.

CETA sets out a framework that will enable Canada and the European Union to make the most of their already strong investment ties, which are an important part of their economic relationship. In 2015, the known stock of Canadian direct investment in the EU was valued at $210 billion, which represented over 21% of known Canadian direct investment abroad.

That same year, the known stock of European direct investment in Canada reached $282 billion, or over 31% of its known direct investment abroad, in Canada.

CETA’s chapter on investment provides investors with greater certainty, stability, and protection for their investments, as well as greater access to their respective markets.

CETA includes provisions that facilitate the establishment of investments in order to protect investors from practices like discriminatory treatment, expropriation without compensation, and arbitrary and abusive conduct, and it ensures the free transfer of capital.

CETA obligations are backed by an investor dispute resolution mechanism that includes an appeal tribunal. When an investor files a complaint, the permanent and independent tribunal, as well as the appeal tribunal, if need be, will determine whether a government measure violates CETA's investment obligations and whether the investor suffered a loss as a result.

CETA holds great potential for businesses in both our respective territories. That is why our government has been working extremely hard to bring CETA into force as soon as possible.

While negotiations concluded in August 2014, our government has made enhancements to the agreement in order to strengthen and introduce progressive elements related to environmental protection, workers' rights, consumers' health and safety, and a government's right to regulate.

Prior to our making these changes, support for CETA in the centre left in Europe, which is essential to have CETA ratification in the European Parliament as well as the support of member states, such as Germany and France, was uncertain. Indeed, it was in jeopardy. Now that we have made those changes, the progressive leadership of those countries, as well as the progressive leadership in our country, is squarely behind it.

One of the most important things our government did right after taking office was to listen to the critics of CETA, both in Canada and in Europe, and to understand some of the legitimate concerns people had. We have worked with Canadians, including industry and civil society alike, and with our European Union partners to prove, with CETA, that a progressive trade policy is possible.

CETA will set the bar for trade agreements in the future, and it forms the cornerstone of our government's progressive trade agenda. This is an agenda that has linked the government's domestic policy focus on reducing inequality and enhancing inclusive growth. The idea is to ensure that trade policy makes a more meaningful contribution to this overall agenda and to ensure that trade is done in a way that Canadians can see, feel, and believe works for them.

This agreement clearly provides the advantages that our industries are seeking in expanding their footprints internationally, and does so in a fair and responsible manner that will benefit Canadian society as a whole. This is why it is important for Canada to implement CETA as soon as possible.

[Anne Minh-Thu Quach, NDP, Salaberry—Suroît, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government needs to sign agreements that benefit all Canadians. This is a treaty with the European Union and we cannot afford to sign a botched agreement.

The government is asking for carte blanche when it comes to investor-state dispute settlement. We still do not know how the tribunals will be formed. We still do not know what the appeal system will look like. However, the government would have us believe that everything is okay, that the interests of Canadians will be taken into consideration, and that no harm will come to our public services.

Can the hon. member explain how we are supposed to reassure Canadians about local job protection? We know that under these types of agreements, foreign workers come before local jobs. This is quite worrisome to those who still do not have a job and who use social assistance or employment insurance.

This lacks transparency. Canadians are not being consulted on this, even though consultations on CETA have been going on since at least 2012. Those were held by the Conservatives, but the Liberals stopped holding them entirely.

We need more answers and more details. We are not getting the same story from the Liberals.