Debates of May 12th, 2016

Opposition Motion—Trans-Pacific Partnership

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the member on his fifth year here. Tomorrow, it will be my 14th year here, and I have seen basically the Liberals' position switch back and forth all the time.

We do have credibility with the auto industry, starting with our green car strategy with David Suzuki, which was launched with labour and some proponents from the industry as well.

Most importantly, the parliamentary secretary talked about cleaning up the mess. Well, the mess he talked about cleaning up has been supported by the member's party every single time in this chamber for all the years that I have been here. Tomorrow I will have been here for 14 years, and we have supported trade deals. The member is wrong again, but do not let the facts get in the way, and he never does.

We will make sure that we hold the government to account for jobs and for the auto industry. We have gone from fourth in the world in auto assembly and production to 10th, and it is expected to go lower that that, and that has been primarily on the watch of the Liberals.

[Bev Shipley, Conservative, Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the hon. member for Cariboo—Prince George.

It is an honour to come to this House to speak to something that is quite significant for my riding of Lambton—Kent—Middlesex. I am going to focus on my riding of Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, which is in southwestern Ontario. It is a little bigger than the province of Prince Edward Island. Prince Edward Island is a beautiful province, as is the riding of Lambton—Kent—Middlesex. It is made up of small towns, small businesses, and energetic people. The largest urban area has 14,000 people. I know that in some of the ridings around here, members can jump on a bicycle and go around their riding in 15 minutes. They likely have as many constituents in a couple of high-rises that I may have in my whole riding.

Let me tell members the significance of the trans-Pacific partnership. I happened to be on the international trade committee at the time of the trade discussions on CETA and the TPP, and also the agriculture committee. International trade, agriculture, and Lambton—Kent—Middlesex have so much in common. The business of my riding of Lambton—Kent—Middlesex is agriculture and includes many of the supporting industries that make agriculture so significant and also very successful. They have had successful years because we as a Conservative government always took the lead in determining what we could do for those industries and manufacturers in our province and in our country. What is the purpose of these trade agreements?

I want to thank the member for Abbotsford, the previous minister of international trade, so much. A comment came from across the aisle a little while ago about the new international trade minister travelling around. I think she might want to stop some of the travel to the vanity shows in Hollywood and actually call the previous minister, the member for Abbotsford, to find out how to work with countries around the world and successfully walk through win-win situations for those countries involved, including Canada, to sign some 46 trade agreements.

I will go back to the start. What is the purpose of these agreements?

Actually, to boil it down—and that is what I like to do; in my business of agriculture, we like to get to the point—it is about jobs. We create trade. That is what the trans-Pacific partnership and CETA are about. To my colleague across the way who took the credit for COOL, I am glad that somebody bought the pen for them so that they can sign the work that was done that got COOL resolved. That is actually what they are doing now. Whether it is with CETA or the TPP, we need to just give them the pen, because all the work has been done, to get the job in place, so that people in Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, in fact in all of Ontario and across this country can move forward, be competitive, and be a part of the largest trade pact in the world.

The NDP actually does not support any trade, but I want to talk about the significance of what the Liberals are creating by delaying moving forward on this. It is all about investments.

In Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, and across this country, we have investors of all sizes. We have investors who come in and make parts for the auto industry. In my riding, they make parts for the aerospace industry. They do not sell directly to the aerospace, car, or truck manufacturers; rather, they make the parts for a company that further produces an end product. Every day they get up, go to work, do their job. They work with this. If we continue to build trade, these companies in our ridings will continue to grow.

In my riding, there was a small tool and die manufacturer, a family-run business, which made parts for the auto industry. It was a third-generation family, and the youngest had taken the lead responsibility for the business. When the recession came, they announced the expansion of their business. I said to the grandfather, the founder, “This is quite amazing to think that this is off the main roads of Ontario and Middlesex centre. How does this work? We are in a recession and you are actually expanding.” He said, “It's because of that young guy over there”, and he pointed to his grandson. “He researched what we could do with respect to ventures for small businesses to grow and open markets so that we could be competitive with our production and get into markets that were not hindered as much by certain tariffs.”

We went through this whole debate with respect to the trans-Pacific partnership. I sat on the committees. I will focus on agriculture because it is my passion and because all of the businesses in my riding of Lambton—Kent—Middlesex benefit from it. The auto industry is also doing amazingly well, but they do amazingly well when agriculture does well because agriculture tends to buy a number of vehicles, as do the agriculture equipment dealers. I want to touch on how important it is for these businesses to have access to opportunities to move forward.

At committee we heard from Ontario stakeholders, commodity organizations, the Grain Farmers of Ontario, and the beef, pork and canola farmers from across Canada, anything in agriculture, from direct producers to those who were in processing. I will admit that some of the processors were faced with the challenge of being able to meet some of the demands. I think we need to fix some of those terms with respect to labour. We all agree on that.

My time for debate is wrapping up, so I will close by saying that this is an opportunity for the Liberal government, the Government of Canada, to step forward and be a leader. It is not the time to take away from investments. It is not the time to take away credit from those investors who are waiting. They say that Ontario is an opportunity, and that Canada is an incredible opportunity. We have seen that in past trade agreements.

My plea to members is this. I see some members of the agriculture committee sitting across the way. I appreciate that they have taken the time to be a part of this, because we know the significance of this agreement to our greatest and largest industry in Canada right now. Therefore, I would just ask that they use their influence not only with the Prime Minister but also with the trade minister to put the pen to paper and get it done so that investment and growth in this great country can proceed with another great trade agreement.

[Lloyd Longfield, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I enjoy working with my colleague on the agriculture committee. The interactions have always been positive in looking at what we can do to improve business in Canada. Also, the industry committee has similar concerns around improving business in Canada.

For me, the result that we are looking for is improving our balance of trade. Could the hon. member comment on where he sees balance of trade as an important part of the mix going forward and how we could possibly help those young business people in rural communities to develop opportunities to increase our exports, business to business and country to country?

[Bev Shipley, Conservative, Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we have heard about trade deficits and trade surpluses and about what they did and what we have done. We were told many times that there was a great balance between trade surpluses and trade deficits. They all create jobs. We want to remember that this is about creating jobs.

I will take a different analogy. Why, when we were in government during the greatest recession since the Great Depression, did we have a trade deficit? The Government of Canada of that day, the Conservative Party of Canada, dealt with the economy in such a strong manner that the people in Canada had the resources to buy from those countries because we still had the money in our pockets. Those countries that went through the recession did not have the money to buy what we had in Canada. On the plus side, Canadians did well in respect to other countries. In fact, that is likely the main reason why we had a deficit in exports as compared to a surplus.

[Sheila Malcolmson, NDP, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I want to discuss this in relation to my riding of Nanaimo—Ladysmith. We are very proud of, and very reliant on at a local industry level, local agriculture and food security. Value-added cheese and winery industries are very important to us, and value-added forestry. We are very committed to trying to do what we can to make up the 21,000 lost jobs in value-added paper and lumber manufacturing that have fallen over the last decade. Raw log exports are a very visible part of our community.

When we read the headlines in Nanaimo—Ladysmith, we see with the TPP a weakening of regional content rules, which might block local food security. We have acceleration of already soaring prescription drug costs. We see a facilitation of corporations suing our governments for standing up for health and environmental standards, in secret tribunals. Then we see the C.D. Howe Institute saying that gains from TPP may be relatively modest.

How, on balance, could this deal ever be good for people in my community of Nanaimo—Ladysmith? How, in particular, does the member view the apparent failure of the government to continue to offer compensation to local farmers and local industries that would be harmed by this deal?

[Bev Shipley, Conservative, Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I always appreciate questions that the concern small business people, particularly in agriculture.

I just do not get it. I know it is coming from the NDP. The New Democrats have a little trouble comprehending the financial aspects of a $9 billion or $10 billion benefit that the TPP would bring if we get it signed. We have to get it signed or those numbers will drop because people lack the confidence in their companies to invest. It is pretty simple stuff.

I agree that with anything we do, we should always do it alongside our businesses so they have the resources and the research behind them to add value to whatever the product. When we were in government, we involved others in our cluster funding for research. We brought industry, the public, and businesses to the table with the researchers and the universities so they could work together to determine what was the best way forward to add value and prosperity to their industry.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for Windsor West has been in the House for 14 years and we cannot figure out how to modulate his volume when he gives speeches. He is very loud, but very passionate.

Canada is a trading nation and from our earliest days we have focused on trade. Whether it was the indigenous peoples trading furs and fish with some of the earliest explorers to the forming of the company of adventurers of England trading, which we now know as the Hudson's Bay Company, Canada has always been a trading nation.

Today I want to talk a bit about my riding, the Asia-Pacific region, and how this agreement will be core to Canada's growth.

As I mentioned, Canada is a trading nation, and the rapid economic growth of the Asia-Pacific countries is and has been reshaping our global trade flows for quite some time. The Asia-Pacific region is expected to represent two-thirds of the world's middle class by 2030 and one half of the global GDP by 2050.

The trans-Pacific partnership agreement would ensure that Canada would be the only G7 nation with free trade access to all of the U.S., as well as the Americas and the Europe and Asia-Pacific continents, granting access to over 60% of the world's economy, a market of over 800 million consumers, with a GDP of over $29 trillion. Add that to our market of already 500 million consumers.

The TPP agreement would do so much more than that. It would protect and create jobs, economic opportunities, and financial security for workers and businesses in all regions of Canada. I find it humourous that our colleagues in the NDP continue to talk about fighting for jobs. Those very jobs that they are fighting for are predicated on having business and trade. We all have cellphones. The New Democrats are against trade, but the cellphones they have are here because of trade. The computers they have are here because of trade.

In my very first speech in the House, I spoke about my riding of Cariboo—Prince George, which is adjacent to the riding of my hon. colleague from Skeena—Bulkley Valley. In our combined ridings, there is the port of Prince Rupert, the closest and fastest marine port to Asia, which allows the competitive advantage that our goods can travel one to two days faster to Asia than any other west coast port. It means that Canada has a competitive advantage in trade.

Our ridings also have the fastest and greenest road and rail networks into the U.S. Midwest markets, running straight through my region. There is also the airport that I am so proud to say I was part of building and marketing in my region for so long. It has one of the largest runways in Canada. By air, it is equidistant to Europe and Asia. We can compete on the global trade market. We can compete on the global transportation market. Those are just a few of Canada's competitive trade advantages in and near my riding.

I come from the beautiful province of British Columbia, which has one of Canada's largest ports, the Port Metro Vancouver. It is North America's most diversified port. It trades up to $75 billion in goods with more than 160 trading partners. It is substantial.

B.C.'s economy is leading our nation. Why? Because we are taking advantage of the competitive advantages that we have and because of the Conservative government previously opening the doors for trade and allowing investment in our ports, airports, and transportation routes. The Liberal government is narrow-minded and not thinking it through. It is putting us further and further behind. We have said this before. We need to lead, not lag because we will fall further behind. We are falling further behind already in the past six months.

I raise all of these points because our nation is dependent on resource development. Our economy is predicated on trading the commodities we produce, and the government has failed to place any importance on this.

As a mid-sized economy, Canada is better when we have multilateral rules to protect our economic interests so we diversify the markets that we are dependent upon, so we are not putting all of our eggs in one basket.

More important, trade represents an opportunity for us to grow our economy without spending billions of dollars we do not have, although I think the government has already done that. The Liberals continue to spend billions of dollars with no plan to get us out of deficit, to find a way for us to grow our economy. We have two significant agreements on the table today, the softwood lumber agreement and the TPP, which the government continues to vacillate on and take its time. As it does that, we continue to lag further and further behind.

As I have mentioned before, Canada is a nation built on exports. We are a trading nation, and I think we can all agree on that. We need free trade. We need to access markets around the world. Given the opportunity, Canadian producers can thrive. It was our Conservative government that recognized this opportunity.

The former government met with farmers, manufacturers, the auto industry, just to name a few. All that to say the work that was put in prior to the Liberals taking office set them up very well. They are taking credit for COOL, but it was the work of the Conservative government and our former trade minister that set them up well so they could take advantage of that. It was the Conservative government that looked out for Canada's interests. We set Canada up for the future.

I would like to use a hocky term, which I have mentioned before. I am a diehard hockey fan and sadly there are no Canadian teams in the playoffs. We see a government that for six months has taken every opportunity to “rag the puck” on one of the most important trade agreements in modern history.

The Minister of International Trade and the Minister of Foreign Affairs have both publicly stated that the Liberal party is pro-free trade. They fly that banner. With all the travel they have done across the border, the state dinners, etc., they have yet to come back with one signed agreement.

The last time the Liberals were in power they neglected this crucial file. Since 2006, the previous Conservative government signed free trade agreements with 46 countries compared to 5 from the previous Liberal government; that is 46 to 5, which almost sounds like a Canada versus Belarus hockey game.

Under our Conservative government, Canada became a global leader on trade liberalization and in the fight against protectionism. Ratifying the trans-Pacific partnership at this time would give the Liberals the opportunity to prove that they really are serious about the file, that they really are serious about trade in our country, that they really are serious about growing Canada, about protecting high-quality, well-paying jobs, about looking out for Canadians who work in the industries that are the backbone of our country. One in five jobs is tied to trade. Canada needs to lead, not lag.

I know my time is short but let me get one thing very clear. Throughout the TPP negotiations, the Conservative government kept Canadians informed. We consulted extensively to assure the agreement would meet the needs of Canadians. We received valuable input and we adjusted. We took the information they gave us into consideration and we adjusted our stance.

I want to bring up a few names that were in support: The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade; the Mining Association of BC; the Council of Forest Industries; the Canadian Chamber of Commerce; the Canadian Cattlemen's Association; the Agri-Food Trade Alliance. The Agri-Food Trade Alliance said this was an historic moment for Canadians and Canadian families that were dependent on the agri-food industry. However, the government would not understand that.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Madam Speaker, the Conservatives like to exaggerate at times. I find it interesting when they say they have signed 30-plus trade agreements. What they do not say is that one of those trade agreements, which was not technically signed, was with the EU, which was 28 countries. It was one agreement, 28 countries.

The good news is that this government is actually following through on a lot of the work that was done by the Conservatives. However, it will depend on this government following up to ensure that we get that particular agreement signed.

My question to the member is, why do the Conservatives tend to oppose working on and having due diligence on important trade agreements? What is wrong with having some patience and allowing—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

The hon. member for Cariboo—Prince George.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Madam Speaker, I find the question humorous, coming across the way from a government that has campaigned on open and transparent ways and how it was going to change the way that Canadian government is being seen.

All it has done is put Canada back in the Dark Ages. He talked about the EU agreement and the 28 countries. I am not quite sure how the hon. member can point fingers, when under their former government it was five agreements to our 46.

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Madam Speaker, I appreciate the commentary from the member for Cariboo—Prince George.

He stated something along the lines of how after 14 years, I would have learned how to moderate my volume. I find that of particular concern—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

I would like to remind the member to allow the question to be posed so that the member could have an opportunity to answer. Be respectful.

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Madam Speaker, it is important to note the effects of this trade agreement for a constituency like mine.

I have no problem bringing passion to this House. The auto industry, for us, has meant everything. It created the Rand formula in Canada, which created a meaningful opportunity for social justice, gender equality, and a number of different initiatives, including money to the United Way. Most recently, our UNIFOR Local 444 donated $250,000 to the Fort McMurray disaster that is taking place right now. I have no difficult whatsoever wearing that pride on my sleeve.

I know that men and women have worked every single day for a century to contribute back to this country, and their future and their children's future are at risk. I make no apologies for that whatever.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Madam Speaker, there was no question there.

I want to stand and apologize to my colleague. I was not pointing fingers at him. I was merely saying that in 14 years, “we” have not been able to modulate our volume when he gets up because of his passion. I commend him for his passion.

I hope he accepts my apology. I appreciate his passion for his riding.

As I talked about earlier in my speech, Canada is predicated on trade. For the very people that our honourable colleague from Windsor West is talking about, this agreement protects jobs. It gives them jobs, high-paying jobs. Whether it is for our agri-food sector, auto sector, or manufacturing sector, TPP is good for Canadians. There are measures in place.

I hope the government does its due diligence and allows us to sign off on this, and allows Canada to continue to lead the global industry.

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Minister of International Trade]

Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to rise in this House today.

Canada is a trading nation. International trade and investment are very important to Canada and Canadians. International trade and investment are essential to our standard of living and to improving the standard of living of people all over the world.

Trade helps us open markets to Canadian goods and services, promote the growth of exporters, create jobs, and give Canadian consumers more choice and lower prices.

Trade accounts for more than 60% of Canada's GDP. One out of five jobs in Canada is tied to Canadian exports. Exporting companies pay 14% higher wages than companies that do not export.

Free trade agreements do not just connect Canada to the rest of the world. They also guide our economic growth. Just look at the North American Free Trade Agreement, which gave rise to 3.4% growth in Canada, or the Canada-European Union comprehensive economic and trade agreement, which is expected to increase Canada's GDP by 0.77%.

At a time of stagnant economic growth around the world, this boost from trade is especially valuable.

Trade is important across all regions of our country. In the Atlantic provinces, trade represents almost 74% of the region's GDP. In Ontario, total trade as a share of GDP is 71%. In B.C., almost 40% of exports are destined for the high-growth Asia-Pacific markets.

Canadians are traders, and our government energetically supports trade. Our party was elected on a pro-trade platform, and we will continue to support and work for high-quality trade agreements and opportunities. When the U.S. adopted discriminatory labelling practices that disrupted supply chains for our beef and pork producers, it was the enforcement of international trade rules at the WTO that gave our government, working closely with Mexico, the opportunity to fight back against U.S. protectionism. And, we won. That was a victory for multilateralism. It was a victory for Canada. It was a victory for beef and pork producers. I was proud to engage in that fight and to win it just eight weeks after we formed government.

Protectionist actions by our trading partners harm the Canadian economy. Maintaining an open, predictable, and fair international trading system is essential. Canadians understand this. However, it is also undeniable, as today's motion itself argues, that we are living in a time when protectionist sentiment is rising around the world. Since taking office, I have spoken to hundreds of Canadians about trade, including 84 interactions with 209 stakeholders on the TPP specifically.

Canadians want to be involved in the conversation. Important questions about how we negotiate trade agreements have been raised many times. Canadians are particularly concerned about the lack of transparency and consultation.

People feel that the previous government did not consult Canadians enough. That is why our government is so committed to building strong political consensus about progressive international trade.

That democratic, consultative approach is the only way to maintain public support for trade in this protectionist era, and it is the right thing to do.

Considering CETA, our work on this landmark agreement should leave no doubt about our commitment to free, fair, and progressive trade, and of our ability to get deals done. Early in our mandate, we recognized the importance of our relationship to Europe. We also recognized the clear need for progressive improvements if this deal were to be implemented. We responded to Canadians, to EU citizens, and to our businesses. We responded to concerns about fairness and transparency. As a result, this progressive trade agreement now enjoys wide support on both sides of the Atlantic.

In the investment chapter, we strengthened the right to regulate. This is something I am very proud and pleased to do. The sovereign right of democratically elected governments to regulate, in particular on issues like the environment, is something Canadians believe in, and so do Europeans. The secondary issue where we made important modifications was to the dispute resolution process. We made the system more ethical, more fair, and more transparent. I am proud of that too.

Last month, I travelled to Brussels and to Berlin to promote CETA, and I was very encouraged by what I heard. I was delighted to meet with the German Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel, the leader of the country's Social Democrats. He previously had concerns about CETA, but said at a press conference, alongside me, that “it is clearly a good agreement”. He called the new CETA a sign of good governance, consumer protection, environmental protection, and employee rights.

In June 2015, Matthias Fekl, France's minister of state for foreign trade, said that if France's proposals on the investor-state dispute settlement mechanism “are not taken into account, there will be no majority in France to ratify this treaty”. Thanks to our government's work, Mr. Fekl said that the comprehensive economic and trade agreement, CETA, is actually “a good agreement”.

Our work on CETA should leave no doubt as to our commitment to trade. It is concrete proof that our progressive approach can get deals done where the Conservatives failed to get the puck in the net, notwithstanding the hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars they spent celebrating an unfinished, troubled deal.

Now turning to the TPP, many of us were at the unveiling yesterday of the portrait of the Right Hon. Paul Martin, a man I am proud to call my friend. The comments he made yesterday bear directly on this issue. Let me quote them.

Parliament is important. [...] And I believe if Canadians are to take advantage of the opportunities that lie ahead in this ever-changing world, they will have to be presented with the choices before them. [...] And that means that Parliament must reclaim centre stage as the place where those choices are made.

Mr. Martin went on to say he applauded us, this Parliament for wanting to restore Canada's Parliament “to its proper function as the locus of the nation's great debate”. He continued on to say that he believes that parliamentary committees are one of the most valuable instruments that can be there, both for the government and for the opposition. I could not agree more, and I quote him for the parliamentary record for one particular reason.

I am very pleased that members of the House of Commons Standing Committee on International Trade are touring the country as we speak to consult Canadians in their own communities about the trans-Pacific partnership.

Today, committee members are in Windsor listening to Canadians. This week, they were in Montreal and Quebec City. Tomorrow, they will be in my city, Toronto. Last month, they talked to residents of Vancouver, Calgary, Saskatoon, and Winnipeg.

The committee is also urging Canadians to submit their views in writing, and I hope people will do so.

I applaud the leadership of this committee and its members from all parties. In the words of our 21st Prime Minister, this committee is embracing “the inherent strength of a Parliament that sends its committees out to meet the people..”.

Our government has held consultations with over 400 stakeholders from across the country on the TPP. Over the next few weeks, I will personally be hosting two more town halls, one in Toronto and one in Montreal.

Canadians' views about this deal are particularly important because of the secretive and closed approach of the previous government. The Conservatives did not consult the essential groups, including, shockingly, trade unions. Even the car parts sector, which in 2015 shipped over $25-billion worth of goods, was shut out.

Do not trust me on this. Listen to Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association, who recently said to the press:

No one in a position of authority invested in industry consultation before being dealt a terrible hand by major trading partners that did not have Canadian interests at heart when they negotiated the terms in our absence.

That was wrong. Our Prime Minister made a clear commitment in the campaign to ensure Canadians' voices would be heard. In fact, one of the first consultations I held on the TPP as minister was on November 30 with the auto parts manufacturers.

While we cannot make up for Canadians having been left in the dark by the Conservatives, we can provide opportunities for their views to be heard and considered now. We have the time to hold these essential discussions. Under the terms of the TPP agreement, all 12 signatories have until February 2018 to debate and discuss the agreement at home. That is what our partners are doing.

It is important for this House to understand that none of the 11 other TPP countries have yet ratified the agreement. Japan and Australia, in fact, will hold elections before moving ahead with their domestic processes. The U.S. is likely to do so as well.

The Conservatives know this, and the Conservatives should explain why they are today urging that Canadians alone do not deserve to have their voices heard.

Let me finish where I started. We are a trading nation. Trade is essential to our prosperity, to our standard of living, to growth, and to good-paying middle-class jobs. An open, transparent, fully democratic debate to inform an inclusive approach to trade is the only way to ensure that we are a successful trading nation in the 21st century and that we can beat back the waves of protectionism that are consuming so many other countries.

That is why it is essential to give Canadians an opportunity to debate and discuss the TPP, and that is exactly what we are doing.

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech and for the work she is doing as the new Minister of International Trade.

I just want to disabuse the member of one thing. I met with Flavio Volpe well before trade negotiations on TPP were completed. In fact, it was Canada that walked away from the table in Maui exactly because the auto part outcome was not to our liking and because the supply management outcome was not to our liking. We walked away, and then when we went back to Atlanta to finalize the agreement, we got a superior outcome on both of those.

I did take note of the fact that the member was praising NAFTA. I think what she is doing is engaging in revisionist history. The member may remember that back in 1993 it was Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin who actually threatened to tear up NAFTA, the Canada-U.S. free trade agreement, over which an election was fought in 1988. The Liberals vociferously opposed that agreement, yet today here they are praising those very agreements that Conservative governments negotiated.

I remind the member that CETA was negotiated by a Conservative government, and that TPP was negotiated by a Conservative government. In fact, of all the trade agreements Canada has with countries around the world, 48 of them were negotiated by Conservative governments and only three were negotiated by Liberal governments.

My question for the member is this. As she moves forward with ratifying TPP, which I hope she will do, will she be a leader rather than following the United States' lead? Will she be a leader rather than a laggard on trade?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Madam Speaker, I would like to start by thanking the member for Abbotsford for his really hard work on Canada's trade agenda. As trade critic, I enjoyed working with him when he was minister.

To the point that the member makes, the reality of Canada's trade relationships with the world is that it takes a Liberal government to get the deal done. That was true with NAFTA and that will be true with CETA. The member knows very well that the agreement was not signed and the legal scrub was not completed on his watch. CETA was languishing from September 2015 until we came into office. With CETA, we were able to get the deal done.

[Ruth Ellen Brosseau, NDP, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Madam Speaker, I thank the minister for speaking to the House about the Conservatives' opposition motion.

I would just like to comment, as the member was speaking a lot about consultation and being progressive and transparent. At the agriculture committee, I had a motion on the floor when we were to, hopefully, study the TPP. It was actually voted out by some of the Liberal members on the agriculture committee, which was quite shameful and sad.

One of the questions I would have for the Minister of International Trade is this. The Conservatives proposed compensation for the dairy industry. It was $4.3 billion. It was not honoured in the last budget, and I know that the government is going to be consulting. I was just wondering whether the minister could follow up on where the Liberals are on the compensation package; and, if she could maybe comment on the importance of dealing with diafiltered milk because that was part of the compensation for the industry, which is being negatively impacted by the trade agreements.

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the member for her hard work on this issue.

When it comes to compensation, I spoke in my remarks about the need for a progressive trade agenda, an agenda that engages Canadians and builds their trust. Assuring Canadians that compensation for sectors of people displaced by trade agreements will be forthcoming and appropriate is an essential part of that progressive trade agenda. That is why with CETA, where we have pledged with the European Union to sign the deal in the fall and we hope it will come into force at the beginning of next year, we have begun consultations with, among others, the agricultural producers on compensation.

On TPP, as we are discussing today, our government's belief is that now is the time for discussion and debate about the agreement itself. However, we understand the need for compensation, absolutely.

[Sukh Dhaliwal, Liberal, Surrey—Newton, BC]

Madam Speaker, the Minister of International Trade has done a good job of explaining the importance of expanding trade and market access for Canada. Early in her mandate, she was in British Columbia consulting with the stakeholders. In my own home province, 40% of the exports are destined for high-growth Asia-Pacific markets.

Protectionist rhetoric seems to be spreading across the globe as economies face difficulty. Could the minister elaborate on how the government's approach is working to overcome this protectionist sentiment in order to protect Canadian jobs linked to trade?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Madam Speaker, as I said in my remarks, and as he suggested, now is a worrying time for all of those who, like us, appreciate the importance of trade and of an open world economy for good-paying Canadian middle-class jobs.

The only way for us to fight that protectionist current is to advance a truly progressive trade agenda. There are two essential ways to do that. One is to have an open, democratic, and consultative process so that people do not fear, as they have sometimes done in the past, that deals are done behind their backs and in secret. The second is to advance truly progressive goals, like protection of the environment, like strong labour standards, like rights for women in small businesses in trade agreements.

[Simon Marcil, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

Madam Speaker, I would remind the minister that before anyone quotes Mr. Martin, it is important to remember the Canada Steamship Lines scandal. He was hiding money in tax havens when he should have been paying taxes on it here. She should maybe think twice before she quotes the former prime minister.

I know we are talking about the TPP and some of the progressive compensation that will be paid, but can the minister explain why the budget makes absolutely no mention of the $300 million promised to Quebec's cheese producers as part of the Canada-European Union comprehensive economic and trade agreement? Not one red cent of that money has been delivered.

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.

First of all, I am very proud to quote Mr. Martin because he was an excellent finance minister and an excellent prime minister. I am proud that he was a Liberal.

As for compensation, as I have already said, we are currently in talks with agricultural producers. We have said so publicly. It is a very important discussion. We will reach an agreement on compensation, because we are absolutely in favour of that.

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Madam Speaker, I would like to ask the minister a question about the mitigation that the previous Conservative government promised to the supply-managed sector.

The United States is well known for exploiting loopholes in trade laws to try to get products into Canada that should not be in Canada. For example, there is the ultra-diafiltered milk issue, the spent fowl issue, and the sauce-pack issue for the chickens.

We had made clear commitments to the supply-managed sector that we were going to plug those holes. One of those holes we plugged already was the pizza-kit issue. That was under our previous Conservative government and the industry was very happy with that.

Unfortunately, the Liberal government has not yet committed to implementing those mitigation measures. I am wondering if the minister can now, in the House, tell us that she will actually move forward to address the concerns of our supply-managed farmers.

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Madam Speaker, I have the utmost respect for the member for Abbotsford.

Since I only have a brief answer, I will say that you had from 2011 to plug that hole and you guys did not get the job done. It was the same with COOL, so—