Madam Speaker, I am always pleased to rise in the House to bring forward the views of my constituents. I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Don Valley East.
First, this trade deal has been extremely important deal for Canadians. It is an extremely important deal for all 11 countries, but I will show throughout my speech how the CPTPP will benefit Canadians.
A simple way to talk about trade is if we trade a car. It would be an even one-for-one trade, with one item traded. There are all kinds of trades in which multiple items are traded and we agree on certain prices for trading back and forth. Then there are large trade deals that affect many industries and many resources.
This trade deal is extremely important to Canadians. It would benefit Canada's middle class, including the people in my riding of Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, as I will explain as I move forward.
When we talk about trade, it is about the elimination of tariffs and taxes. That can only benefit people, and that is what it is all about. Canada is a country that is rich in resources. If anyone can compete and trade in resources or services, this is the nation that can do it.
We are talking about having access to more products and a more competitive price. In general, half a billion people will be involved in this trade deal. We are opening up our markets to half a billion people, but we will have access to a market of half a billion people as well. It is very positive. We will have access and exports for middle-class Canadians.
That is 11 countries, half a billion people, and this deal affects 13.5% of the GDP for Canada and the 10 countries signing this agreement. This is quite impressive. It is almost 15% of the GDP worldwide, which is extremely impressive. If we take some samples, in 2016, Canada and the 10 countries had about $100 billion in trade. By adding this agreement now, the CPTPP, we are not only going to increase that in many sectors, but for Canada next year it means $4.2 billion in GDP. Think about that. It is $4.2 billion. It is an enormous amount of money to be had.
We are going to talk about many sectors. There is the financial sector, the fish and seafood sector, agriculture and agri-food, and metals and minerals, etc. As I said earlier, if any country can compete, it is Canada, because we are very rich in natural resources.
Because I am from Atlantic Canada, we need to talk about Atlantic Canadians and the fish and seafood industry there. One hundred per cent of the tariffs would be removed. Think about that. Between Canada and the 10 other countries, for half a billion people, the taxes and tariffs will be removed. For frozen snow crab in Japan, 4% of the tariffs will be eliminated. Then there is the lobster industry. In my riding of Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, in Eastern Passage we have a great company that is growing. It is called Capital Seafood. This will benefit it as well.
Japan and New Zealand would take a 5% elimination of tax and tariffs. There will be no tariffs. They will drop that 5%. Malaysia will eliminate its 8% tariff. Vietnam, over three years, will eliminate its 34% tariff. This is going to be a major advantage to our seafood industry in Canada, and especially for the lobster industry in Atlantic Canada.
Both the Atlantic and Pacific salmon industries in Canada will benefit. How much are we going to eliminate? Of course, the tariffs will be eliminated. We are going to have 18% elimination in Vietnam, enormous sums. In Japan, tariffs will be reduced 3.5% over the next 10 years. In Vietnam, tariffs on frozen fish will be reduced to zero. The 18% tariff will be eliminated. In Japan it will be 10% over 10 years.
My colleague from Malpeque mentioned the fabulous oysters in P.E.I. We have fabulous oysters in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick as well. We are going to see the elimination of those tariffs in Japan, which represents 10.5%.
Those are enormous benefits that we will be seeing in not just the seafood industry but in many sectors across our country.
There are big advantages to signing on early. Three countries have ratified the agreement, and Canada hopes to be the fourth. As my colleague said earlier, there is a minimum of six countries, and we want to be among the first six.
When we are among the first to sign, we can do something that others cannot do, and that is to give it what I call a Canadian flavour. That is what we were able to do with the changes in the last two years following our consultations. We were able to bring forward some labour rights, ensuring some improvements in that area. We were also able to bring forward some safety rights and environmental rights, as well as the protection of intellectual property, technology, etc. These are important areas to Canadians, and we also committed to indigenous people and their rights.
We were able to influence because we were early. We were part of creating the CPTPP and what it is all about. That is a big advantage. Being first is also a big advantage for our industries because we get to establish ourselves. We get to put down our footprint. We are able to get our branding in. When other countries follow, they will have to compete with the best, and that is always more challenging. That is why Canadians will benefit greatly. When the Americans choose to join, they will have to compete like the rest of the countries as well.
This is an important deal for Canadians. It continues the work of our Liberal government. Our government signed off on CETA last year, where we saw the elimination of 98% of tariffs, compared to 25% prior to that deal. An enormous amount of money will be saved. Middle-class Canadians will benefit through jobs. They will benefit as consumers, because they will have access to products. It will be a win-win situation.
Canada is the only country to have a free trade agreement with all G7 nations. Canada is the only country to have a free trade agreement with the Americas, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region. That is pretty impressive when we think about all of the countries in the world. Canada is not only a major player but a leader as well.
This agreement would also allow us to be less dependent on certain countries, such as the U.S.A., of course. We love Americans and we want to work closely with them. We invite them to sign off on the NAFTA deal as soon as possible and join us here, because together it will be much better.
I have to finish by sharing a quote from Pierre Gratton, the president and CEO of the Mining Association of Canada, who said, “We can't afford to be outside of this trading bloc. ... It would put us at a huge disadvantage.”
As I have indicated in my remarks this afternoon, middle-class Canadians will have many opportunities for better-paying jobs through this deal, and they will benefit from having access to products at a good price.