Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Nanaimo—Ladysmith for his advocacy on human rights and democracy. I assure him that this government also strongly believes that trade policy must represent the values and interests of Canadians. Indeed, our values must drive not only our domestic policy but also our international policy, so let me be clear about what those values are.
We believe that the economy and the environment can and must go hand in hand. That is why we are investing so heavily in a green economic recovery. We also believe in an inclusive approach to trade that seeks to ensure that the benefits of trade are more widely shared with, for example, traditionally under-represented groups such as women, indigenous peoples and LGBTQ2 communities, all of which lead and can lead very successful small businesses.
I find it curious that the member raised the FIPA with China since, as he noted, it was pushed for and signed by the Conservative government under Stephen Harper, not the current Liberal government.
The free trade agreements our government has signed affirm parties' commitments to respect the values and principles of democracy and to protect and promote human rights and fundamental freedoms identified in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In addition, the agreements we have signed include provisions relating to workers' rights, corporate social responsibility and anti-corruption, all of which contribute to supporting human rights more broadly.
Labour provisions in our free trade agreements, including, for example, the new NAFTA, seek to improve working conditions and protect and enhance workers' basic rights. Environmental protections and provisions in our trade agreements, such as the agreement with our European partners under CETA, seek to commit our trading partners to maintaining high levels of environmental protection and set out obligations to foster good environmental governance and the enforcement of environmental regulations.
As I have outlined, the trade agreements that this government has signed support Canadian businesses while including some of the most progressive provisions possible.
The goal is to make sure that more Canadians, as well as our partner countries, benefit from greater trade and investment by including provisions about labour law, environmental protection, gender equality and indigenous peoples.
This comprehensive, inclusive approach is more important now than ever before. Our goal is to build back better as a country and as a multilateral world after COVID-19.
