Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to address the legislation before us, Bill C-57, an act which implements the agreement establishing the World Trade Organization.
As a member of the House of Commons standing committee which studied this bill, I know how important this proposed legislation will be for Canadian business. The government is very aware of the need to provide a positive environment for business in Canada. We know that it is essential for business to have all the benefits possible to compete domestically and in the global marketplace.
Domestically the government has worked to provide an environment where more jobs will be created and business can excel. We have implemented the infrastructure program with the provinces, directly creating 90,000 jobs over two years. We are also outlining an agenda to create a better environment for small business, including working capital for growth, programs to help small businesses expand and create new jobs, the single business registration number to cut paperwork, Canada business centres for one-stop shopping for government services, and the technology incubator, a very important item.
With the co-operation of the provinces we have reached the first ever federal-provincial agreement on eliminating internal trade barriers, an area where much more work needs to be done. The Canadian economy created over 300,000 jobs in the first nine months of this year, most of them full time.
As an example, an upturn in the domestic and export sales in the automobile industry resulted in an announcement at General Motors that it would be postponing the planned phasedown of the foundry operations previously scheduled for December in my riding. The foundry is a major contributor to the employment in St. Catharines and this was very positive news.
We also know the importance of assisting Canadian business internationally. Canada belongs to a continually expanding international market. Making those markets accessible to Canadian companies is vital.
Economically, trade must be one of our top priorities. This is because one in five jobs in Canada is generated by exports. In fact among G-7 countries Canada is second only to Germany in dependence on international trade. Last year during the election this government stated in its red book that trade policy and trade relations are crucially important to the achievement of Canada's economic and social goals.
We noted the importance the GATT has had to Canada in improving access to international markets. We made it clear that we supported a resolution to the stalled Uruguay round talks.
The red book also dealt with the problem of definition of subsidies and dumping and that Canada has been subject to trade harassment due to the lack of definitions in trade agreements.
Dispute resolutions are often lengthy and costly and of no value in enhancing trade or relations between countries. I was a member of the special joint committee reviewing Canadian foreign policy which released its report a few weeks ago. The
report points out the need for creating and promoting an international orientation for Canadian business. This report also states that the World Trade Organization is crucial to the development of a rules based international trade system and should be targeted as a priority organization for Canadian involvement. There is no doubt in my mind that if the world is able to have a rules based trading system Canadians will be able to succeed on the international scene.
The Uruguay round took some seven years to be completed with some 123 countries involved. The agreement reached includes national commitments to lower tariff and non-tariff barriers, thorough reform of trade rules and the extension of the world trading system to cover the areas in services and intellectual property.
The World Trade Organization will implement the achievements of the Uruguay round. It will be a permanent effective institution to oversee world trade policy and settle disputes between nations on a multilateral basis. This is the beginning of a new trade era.
In his speech in the House on October 27, the Minister for International Trade said that the World Trade Organization will finally put international trade on a firm institutional footing by becoming the third pillar of world commerce and financial structure along with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
The WTO is a major step forward in multilateral trade. It will assist Canadian exporters in obtaining fair access to foreign markets. This in turn creates jobs and provides a higher standard of living for Canadians.
Increased openness in markets is also good news for consumers, resulting in greater choices and decreased costs for quality goods and quality services.
Canada must be a leader in helping global organizations to mature. Last week I had the opportunity to tour a fish farm in my area which wants to export fish to Japan. The Uruguay round achieved tariff reductions with Japan of some 70 per cent. We know that historically the export of fish has been subject to harassment from countervail actions. Under the new deal Canadian exporters can expect more secure access to markets for export of fish and hopefully lumber, pork and magnesium, all of which have been controversial in the past.
Another company in my area would like to sell prefabricated housing units to foreign markets. This agreement provides major gains for Canadian exporters of wood and wood products. Negotiators representing our most important offshore markets agreed to phase in tariff cuts on wood and wood products averaging 45 to 50 per cent over five years. In the area of prefabricated housing, tariffs will fall in the European Union, Korea and in Japan.
Recently, as mentioned many times earlier, the federal government led a group of Canadian business people, provincial premiers and others on a trade promotion trip which resulted in great success and gives an outstanding example of Team Canada. Canadian business exporters and potential exporters learned that working together pays dividends.
I conclude by reinforcing once again that with rules based thinking and rules based agreements Canada will not only be better for it by its exports, but Canada can be a leader in having the WTO be good for large developed countries and also for the smaller, less developed countries as they too try to develop their areas.
The time has come for us to be an example to others by proceeding to implement GATT in the manner it was intended. The WTO is scheduled to supersede GATT in 1995. This is a major step for the international community and Canada is pleased to be part of it. As a member of this government and the committee that studied this bill with my colleagues across the way, I look forward to the implementation of the World Trade Organization in the very near future.
