Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Elmwood—Transcona for raising the CPTPP tonight. There has never been a better time to diversify our trade. Our government has been hard at work opening new markets for our Canadian exporters.
Last year we ratified and implement CETA, an ambitious new trade agreement with the European Union, opening up access for Canadian businesses and workers to sell their products and services to a market of over 500 million people with government procurement alone of over $3.3 trillion.
The CPTPP continues this ambitious effort to expand and diversify our trade. This agreement will benefit Canadians and the Canadian economy for years and decades to come. It opens up access to a Pacific trading bloc of 500 million people, with a combined GDP of $13.5 trillion.
Canada's commitment in this agreement helps to support investment and growth in Canada and supports the businesses and livelihoods of Canadians doing work here and abroad. Our government has been consulting with Canadians, including with tradespeople and skilled workers to ensure that the CPTPP provides Canadian businesses with improved access to CPTPP markets while at the same time not compromising our domestic labour market.
The agreement's chapter on temporary entry facilitates labour mobility and provides reciprocal access, for example, to certain highly skilled professionals and technicians, including certain skilled trades into certain CPTPP markets.
As the member will also know, there are key safeguards written into the text of chapter 12. Our government is committed to protecting the integrity of our domestic labour market. We continue to work with our building trades, among others, to ensure that our implementation of this agreement respects that commitment.
For the category of professionals and technicians that the member raised, the agreement includes a wage requirement. There is an education requirement. There is an experience requirement. All domestic requirements, including licensing and certification, continue to apply. It is all written there in the text.
This government's goal is to set a higher bar for openness and transparency. We have delivered on this promise.
On February 20, we made public the final text of the CPTPP. We have also published the government's economic modelling on the estimated economic and commercial benefits of the CPTPP for Canada. Canada's economy stands to gain $4.2 billion by 2040 as a result. As the member is also aware, the hon. Minister of International Trade tabled the CPTPP treaty with all binding side instruments in the House of Commons on May 22.
With the CPTPP, Canadian businesses and Canadians are getting the opportunity to explore new markets and create new jobs. We are working hard to ratify this important agreement. As the Prime Minister indicated last week, the government will introduce implementing legislation this spring with the goal of ratifying the CPTPP expeditiously.