Mr. Speaker, it really was a surprise, particularly given that this is a permanent trade agreement with the United Kingdom, that there was not more consultation.
I was only somewhat joking in my earlier remarks. We heard pretty widely, sometimes somewhat reluctantly from folks who I think were trying to protect their relationship with the government, that there was no real consultation. Some were pretty clear about it. Nobody was clear that they had really been consulted and felt really good about it.
I respect that organizations want to try to maintain good relations with the government of day, but I think it came across pretty clearly that there really was not a lot of communication.
The member may remember that when the deal came out in late November or early December, we were studying not the deal itself, because it was not public, but the issue of Canada-U.K. trade relations. We had witnesses the next day at committee when we all kind of found out that there was no sunset clause on the agreement.
I remember a lot of those witnesses being quite baffled and frankly unsure of what to say. I think the way that this was talked about in the lead-up was very much as a temporary transitional agreement, and suddenly it was a trade continuity agreement, which meant it was going to be permanent. That is a big difference. It is a difference that makes a difference. It is an outrage that Canada is getting a permanent trade agreement without a better process.