Art Eggleton

[Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement, October 21st, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I just said we have protected the industry for the next two and a half years by allowing for a phase out. I might also add that all of our other industries will receive immediate access to the Israeli market with absolutely no tariffs at all which is a good advantage for them.

We are protecting that industry by giving it the opportunity to sort this matter out with the Canadian International Trade Tribunal. The industry knows what is involved and knows what to do. There were consultations. We will certainly want to assist it to make sure that we preserve jobs in Canada. Overall this agreement has to preserve and enhance the job opportunities for Canadian industries.

[Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement, October 21st, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, there have been extensive consultations with the industry through the Sector Advisory Group on International Trade as well as directly with the industry itself. In preparation of the free trade agreement with Israel a lot of consultation went on. As a result of that, we responded and said we would give a two and a half year phase out period.

The problem the swimwear industry has is that it has to pay a 19 per cent duty on European fabrics. We have now given the industry the opportunity to address this issue before the Canadian International Trade Tribunal to try and even up the playing field so that within the two and a half years it will be in a position where it will be able to compete fairly. The industry has accepted that so that we do have a level playing field and we are trying to protect jobs in that industry.

[An Act To Implement The Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement, October 9th, 1996]

moved that Bill C-61, an act to implement the Canada-Israel free trade agreement, be read the second time and referred to a committee.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to commence the debate on second reading for the bill with respect to Canada-Israel free trade.

This historical agreement is both significant and symbolic. Significant because it marks the first free trade agreement Canada has signed with a partner outside this hemisphere and symbolic because it stands as further evidence of Canada's commitment to freer trade around the globe.

It sends a very clear message. Canada is ready, willing and able to trade with the world. With this agreement we will stand on the same footing as the European Union and the United States, both of which have already signed free trade agreements with Israel.

For the first time we will have direct access to the Israeli market without having to funnel our trade through the United States or any other country.

The globalization of markets is one of the great waves of history and it is one Canada cannot afford to and does not intend to watch from the shores.

In today's ever changing world no nation, however rich or powerful, can long remain isolated form the great economic currents of this day. Markets are opening up, barriers are falling down and free movement of goods, services and ideas is becoming simply unstoppable.

Today Canadian companies quite rightly see the world as their marketplace, and the opportunities are boundless. We are vigorously and we are successfully winning new markets and opening new doors.

As a result, our balance of trade with the nations of the world has tipped dramatically in Canada's favour to a record merchandise record surplus in 1995 of over $28 billion.

Part of the success we have realized to date has been the co-operative approach taken by this government since coming to office. New partnerships have been created in every province to provide better export services to Canadian businesses with particular emphasis on dynamic small and medium size enterprises.

We have also benefited from the Team Canada trade missions abroad which joined federal and provincial governments with the private sector to present a united and common front in searching out new opportunities for Canadian companies.

To date the Team Canada trade missions have produced some $20 billion in contracts for Canadian companies signed at the time of the trade missions and signed by companies which will be hiring more people here in Canada to fill those contracts as well as to develop new ones. It is estimated that for every billion dollars in new trade 11,000 jobs are either maintained or created as a result.

All of these activities I believe reflect the fundamental change on how Canadians view freer trade. We have come to realize that there is far more to be gained from globalization than to fear from it. We have come to realize that freer trade is the key to expanding Canada's and the world's economy. More to the point, it creates, it sustains jobs, lots of jobs.

Looking at exports alone, one in three jobs in this country depends on export trade. Trade accounts for some 37 per cent of our gross domestic product, more than one-third of our economy. Quite simply, trade with the world has become the economic engine of this country.

The choice before us is clear. We can expand and diversify our trade or we can stagnate and condemn ourselves and our children to leading lesser lives in a lesser land.

This government is not prepared to let that happen. We are not prepared to sit back and watch the jobs, the growth and the opportunities pass to other nations. We are determined to put Canada in a position where it can realize its potential and not only sustain but enhance our standard of living.

To do that we must constantly seek out new partners and new markets. With a relatively small domestic market we must look beyond our borders if we are going to maintain that standard of living. We must give our businesses the access they need to the most dynamic and robust economies in the world.

That is why we signed the North American Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA, and why we are working to have Chile join that pact. That is why we are working diligently to help create a free trade area of the Americas. That is why we are such strong supporters of the World Trade Organization in its efforts to

liberalize trade throughout the world. That is why we are involved in the Asia-Pacific economic co-operation forum, known as APEC. That is why we have signed a free trade agreement with Israel.

This agreement is a perfect complement to our efforts at trade expansion. Since November 1993 Canadians have created, as my colleague the Minister of Finance has said on many occasions, over 600,000 new jobs. Canada is projected to have the highest employment growth of all the G-7 nations in 1996 and again in 1997. The lesson is clear. Given the access to world markets Canadians will create jobs and they will produce prosperity.

International trade is a subject involving large numbers, billions of dollars in trade and millions of jobs created. Sometimes amid all of those strings of zeros we lose sight of the fact that behind the big numbers are people, individual Canadians, men and women granted the dignity of holding a job; men and women beginning to plan for the future and building a better life for themselves and for their children; men and women who pay taxes and contribute to the economic health of their communities and to our country.

Recognizing this, our government has set the goal of doubling the number of Canadian companies actively exporting by the year 2000. We believe that this is the best way to encourage economic growth and create jobs.

The free trade agreement with Israel represents another step toward our goal of freer trade worldwide. It is clear proof that Canada is prepared to match our rhetoric on free trade with concrete actions.

Why Israel? Israel and Canada have long enjoyed close relations. Our relationship is rooted in common values and shared democratic beliefs: the belief in freedom and the dignity of the individual. Our relationship has been grounded in common hopes, hopes for peace and prosperity. With this free trade agreement we move toward cementing those ties and realizing the economic potential of our relationship.

It was in November 1994 that the late Prime Minister of Israel, Yitzhak Rabin, and our Prime Minister began the process that has led to this historic agreement. It was in Toronto just a few months ago that I had the privilege of signing a final agreement with Natan Sharansky, the Israeli minister for industry and trade.

If I might be permitted a personal word, it was a great honour to meet Mr. Sharansky whom I had read a great deal about. I followed his courageous crusade for human rights in the former Soviet Union back in the seventies and early eighties. It was wonderful to meet him personally and to discuss a wide range of issues.

One of his most remarkable qualities is the ability to persevere and to transcend. For many years he was deprived of his liberty, but he never abandoned his principles. Throughout the darkest days of Soviet oppression he remained one of freedom's torchbearers.

With the signing of the agreement in July, both countries undertook to introduce enabling legislation into their respective parliaments. That is why we have introduced this bill. If the implementation process is completed on both sides by the end of this year, the agreement will come into effect on January 1, 1997.

Before turning to some of the main features of the agreement, let me state clearly something important. While the agreement is between Canada and the Government of Israel, we intend to extend the same benefits to the Palestinians. We will be meeting with Palestinian officials to examine the best ways to go about this.

Canada has always been firmly committed to the Middle East peace process. The relationship between peace and freer trade is clear. At its best free trade acts as a system of rules for peaceful economic relations. It will help to bring additional economic development which will help to bring stability to the region for the people of Israel and for the people under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian authority in Gaza and the West Bank.

The late former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin once said that peace requires a world of new concepts. One of the most important new concepts shaping our world today is freer trade between nations.

While recent developments in the Middle East have been a source of concern to all of us, they should not blind us to the progress to date, nor discourage us from the long term goals. We should be encouraged by the pledges recently made by both Chairman Arafat and Prime Minister Netanyahu to renounce violence and continue negotiations toward peace. Those commitments are a clear indication that both sides have an appreciation for the stakes involved as well as an understanding of the simple truth that far more can be achieved by dialogue than by violence.

We must recognize that the peace process has already brought concrete benefits to Israel. A large number of capital projects in the areas of transportation, energy and communications are being considered by Israel and her neighbours, a development which would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. Canada supports these constructive alliances and wants to be a full and active player in the future economic development of this region.

This agreement is also important to Canada because of the nature of the Israeli economy. With a thriving private sector, an educated workforce, modern banking systems, an important stock exchange and an excellent communications system, Israel is one of the fastest growing economies in that region.

The new Israeli government's far reaching economic program is aimed at lowering taxes, reducing government spending, cutting red tape and reforming restrictive labour practices. As a result, residential construction is booming and foreign investment is growing. In fact, Israel has become something of a magnet for foreign investment which is supplying the capital Israel needs to grow and prosper.

Israel has also been busy expanding its trade ties. It has signed free trade agreements with Turkey, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, as well with as I mentioned before, the European Union and the United States.

Complementing Israel's economic reforms are its growing political relations. At the end of 1995 Israel had re-established relations with more than 40 countries that had broken ties in the 1960s and 1970s.

All of this is a welcome development and stands as further evidence of a new Middle East, a Middle East which is dynamic and outward looking, embracing change and expanding opportunities. It is a Middle East which will not allow its past to limit its future. It is in this Middle East that Israel is poised to become an economic power. It is therefore an opportune time for Canada to strengthen its presence in the growing market through the Canada-Israel free trade agreement.

Trade between our two countries is modest, but it is growing. Two-way trade last year is up 37 per cent, to stand at $450 million. Our exports stood at $216 million in 1995, up 49 per cent from the previous year. I am confident that with the implementation of this agreement those figures will grow dramatically.

In fact, even before this agreement was signed, companies in both countries began to retool and adjust their business plans. Air Canada's service to Israel is helping to speed the passage of business, goods and people between our nations.

When we talk about visits, in 1995 more than 68,000 Israelis came to Canada as tourists. If this trend continues, as I understand it is, we will probably welcome more than 100,000 Israeli tourists this year.

With the signing of this agreement, the pent-up demand, the close ties and the vast potential can all begin to be realized. Canadian and Israeli companies will have duty free access to each other's markets for industrial goods. They will benefit from the reduction or elimination of tariffs on agricultural products.

Many Canadian companies, some well known such as Bombardier and Newbridge, and some not so well known such as Claridge Israel, Global Upholstery, Reikh International, Signatel and Telespace, are on the ground already exploring new partnerships and bidding on new infrastructure projects. These firms are spearheading an increase in exports and imports between our countries. They are boosting investment and encouraging innovation through research and development and joint ventures. All of their efforts and those of others will be made much easier by the agreement we are considering here today.

While Israel as a whole represents a healthy and expanding market for Canadian goods and services, there are some sectors that offer particularly strong potential for Canadian companies. These include advanced electronics and communications systems, power and energy projects, oil and gas exploration, as well as agri-food products and environmental technology. All of these are areas where Canada enjoys world class expertise, and all of these are areas of opportunity in Israel.

This agreement provides access to the Israeli market. We realize that access is only half the battle. Companies must be made aware of the opportunities that await them. Canadian companies in the private sector wanting to expand into Israel will have a great deal of support. The Canadian embassy in Israel is working hard at this moment to line up potential partners and to match up Canadian goods and services with Israeli buyers.

Another important vehicle which our companies can use is the Canada-Israel Industrial Research and Development Foundation. Established in 1993 to promote industrial co-operation, it has played a key role in matching Canadian firms with ones in Israel. To date the foundation has approved some 11 co-operative projects worth over $9 million in collaborative research and development efforts. The foundation also provides repayable grants for promising joint ventures.

I am pleased to note this has been so successful that the Government of Alberta and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, ACOA, have signed agreements to co-operate and work with the foundation. A similar agreement is in the works for the Federal Office of Regional Development in Quebec, FORD-Q. The involvement of these governments and agencies is very encouraging because it means a much broader market will be able to tap into the benefits of the foundation. This in turn will lead to more partnerships and more opportunities.

In addition, another agency of the government, the Export Development Corporation, EDC, offers four lines of credit for buyer credit financing in Israel. Canadian companies looking for financial or risk management services will find a ready source in the EDC.

So the support is there. Now that governments have played their parts in establishing the infrastructure for free trade, it is up to the private sector in both countries to step forward and realize the potential of this new relationship.

Let me turn briefly to the substance of the agreement. I will not go into a great deal of detail but I will outline the main elements.

First, under this agreement all tariffs will be removed from industrial products beginning on January 1, 1997, all industrial product tariffs. At Canada's request, the only exception is that women's swimwear, and at Israel's request, certain cotton fabric will continue to be subject to tariffs. Even here however the tariffs are scheduled to be phased out over two and one-half years.

Second, duty free access or low duties will be applied to a variety of agricultural and fisheries products exported by either country. For Canada such exports include grains, grain products, beef, salmon, maple syrup, alcoholic beverages and various processed foods.

Third, the agreement also provides a clear and straightforward rules of origin, a key component of any successful trading relationship. I would point out that these rules of origin are generally less restrictive than those under the NAFTA, reflecting the structure and openness of our respective economies.

Fourth, to resolve any disputes that might arise under the agreement, both sides have agreed to be governed by a binding dispute settlement mechanism.

It is worth emphasizing the areas that are not covered by the agreement. As we would expect, supply managed dairy, poultry and egg producers are excluded. Cultural industries are also exempt. So to is the auto pact. Other areas of trade such as trade in services and government procurement continue to be governed by the multilateral rules being established through the World Trade Organization.

These then are some of the benefits which this agreement brings to Canadians. I am proud of the work our negotiators have done. I congratulate them. I am excited by the prospects that this agreement creates.

As trade barriers collapse around the world, and indeed they are, the possibilities for Canada are virtually limitless.

A world of opportunities is opening up before us and we are determined to place Canadians in a position to benefit from them. This agreement is an important step toward that goal.

It gives us access to a dynamic and important market. Strong bonds of friendship will now be complemented by stronger economic ties. We will be partners not only for peace but for progress, not only for security but for prosperity, and not only for survival but for enrichment.

This agreement is not a leap of faith so much as it is a declaration of confidence, confidence in the ability of Canadians to compete successfully anywhere in the world. To those who say the old trade barriers are simply being replaced by new trading blocks, this agreement offers eloquent proof to the contrary.

To those who say we must diversify our trade around the world, this agreement offers reason for optimism. With freer trade as our guide and our goal, let us continue to open up a world of opportunities to Canadians, confident that we can compete in the world and win.

Let me in closing answer a couple of questions that I have heard with respect to this agreement. One has to do with the process that has been followed. The process that has been followed has been the normal negotiating process that is conducted in such matters. We have negotiated government to government and we have done so in a way to consult with the industries affected.

I indicated that in a couple of cases we are phasing out the tariffs over a longer period of time because of the requests of those specific industries. That is the kind of process we use, whether it is directly with the industries affected or through the sectoral advisory committees on international trade that advise me on these matters. We do so in a consultation process to come up with an agreement which is beneficial and supported by the private sector because that is what is key to making this a success.

We have followed that usual negotiating process. We have done the consultation and now the details of this plan are here before us today.

The other question has been why now. The why now is sometimes talked about in terms of the present conflict that is going on in Israel, in the Middle East. Unfortunately there has been conflict on many occasions. Canada is committed to helping resolve the conflict and to help bring peace, stability and prosperity to the Middle East.

Let us bear in mind that one of the prime purposes of proceeding at this point is that Canada business is disadvantaged in its dealings with Israel. Our competitors in the European Union, the United States and a few other countries have that free trade access and Canadian companies do not have it at the moment. I know of businesses in this country that partially produce a product and send it to the United States for completion so that they can take advantage of the United States agreement on free trade. That costs jobs here in Canada.

We want to end this disadvantage for Canadian companies soon. We have set the date of January 1, 1997 to put this agreement into effect so that we can end that disadvantage and create a level playing field for Canadian business. It is an ambitious schedule, one that requires co-operation, which I hope members of the House will give so that we can pass this in time to put it into effect at the first of the year.

There is another reason why we should do this in terms of the present situation in the Middle East. It is a situation that I talked about a few moments ago. If we are going to have peace and stability we also need economic development. We need opportunities both for the Israelis and for those who live under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian authority.

This agreement, as I have pointed out, is being offered to the Palestinian authority to cover the people in the Gaza and West Bank. The sooner we put that into effect for them, the sooner job opportunities will help flow through and improve their economy. That kind of economic development is needed to help bring about stability in the area.

I hope we will have full debate on the matter. I hope at the end of the day that all members of the House will join with us in supporting this piece of legislation to help Canadian businesses in their relationship with Israel and help Canadians to go out into the world and compete and win, creating jobs and economic growth here in Canada.

[Asbestos, October 1st, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, we are as concerned about this employment as anybody in Quebec is. We want to make sure that these jobs remain. We want to make sure that controlled and safe uses of this substance continue to be allowed in the countries to which we are exporting.

The Prime Minister said in the House in the last week or so that he was quite willing to make representations, as indeed is my colleague, the Minister of Health. All of us are concerned about this matter. We are doing our utmost to make sure we maintain that industry.

[Asbestos, October 1st, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, last week I made representations to the European Union and also to the French government with respect to the matter of asbestos. Rather than a total ban, we are suggesting that they look at controlled, safe uses of asbestos. There are some that are not, but there are some that are. I think the health minister and the Department of Health could verify that.

We have offered to send experts to France to assist them in the use of asbestos that can be done safely. We believe that there are some controlled circumstances where it can be used safely. We want to help them in that regard to ensure that the industry survives in Quebec and continues to provide employment.

[The Ethyl Corporation, September 25th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, the government is proceeding with Bill C-29 for many different reasons. We will defend our position with respect to NAFTA. Just because they put in a claim does not mean they will be successful.

[Asbestos, September 24th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, this is an industry that exports in excess of $300 million a year and over 2,000 jobs depend on it.

There are unsafe uses of asbestos, but on the other side of the coin there are safe uses of asbestos which is what we are trying to promote. My colleague the Minister of Health has made representations to the French government with respect to its ban.

In terms of the safe uses, there could be exceptions. The Prime Minister announced last week that he would make representations to the French government. My colleague the Minister of Natural Resources has also been very active on this file. We are making representations to the French government. I have made them to my counterpart. I offered to send some experts over to show the French government what the safe uses are so it can put them into its legislative exceptions.

We will continue to work with other countries in the European Union and around the world to help preserve the safe use of asbestos in international markets.

[Foreign Extraterritorial Measures Act, September 20th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, there are certain pieces of legislation that one would prefer not to be putting forward and this bill falls into that category. However, Canada has been compelled to strengthen the provisions of the Foreign Extraterritorial Measures Act because of the actions taken by the United States in passing the Helms-Burton law.

No one is looking for confrontation, no one wants to take the risk of aggravating the dispute.

But certain fundamental principles must be respected. The freedom to maintain our own foreign policy and trading relationships is one of them, as my colleague the Minister of Foreign Affairs has so correctly pointed out. Canadians have the right to expect that their government will act to respond to threats to our sovereignty and this government is fully prepared to accept that responsibility.

Helms-Burton is wrong on many levels. I will deal with a few of these today. At the most fundamental level it is objectionable because it attempts to enforce uniformity of approach and to deny the freedom to other nations to make up their own minds and implement their own policies. It says: "Our foreign policy must be your foreign policy; our trade relations, your trade relations; our friends, your friends; our foes, your foes; and if you do not agree, our laws become your laws" .That is wrong.

Many years ago President Kennedy said of the relationship between our two countries: "The geography has made us neighbours, the history has made us friends". That is true. We welcome that relationship. We welcome that friendship. History has indeed made us friends, but it has not made us the 51st state. We are not subject to American laws and we are not obligated to follow their rules. Our foreign policy and our trade policy are made in Ottawa, not in Washington. That is something this nation has always declared and is something this government will always defend.

Both Canada and the United States are trading nations, not only with each other but with the world. The Americans have always played a key role in promoting and supporting freer trade around the world. That commitment stretches as far back as President Woodrow Wilson and was reaffirmed as recently as 1994 by President Clinton at the Summit of the Americas in Miami. There, led by the host the United States, we launched the free trade agreement of the Americas which seeks to build bridges to the newly emerging economies of Central and South America and the Caribbean.

Americans know that trade is bringing the world together as never before. With the free exchange of goods and investment comes a greater openness to new ideas and new approaches. Again and again history has shown us that closer trade links lead to closer relations between nations. So freer trade and a clear system of rules to enforce it are important objectives and ones that this government is fully in support of. However, recently we have seen disturbing indications that the American commitment to freer trade may be flagging. First there was the isolationist rhetoric which reverberated throughout the American presidential primaries and now there is Helms-Burton.

Those of us who are committed to tearing down barriers and opening up opportunities cannot be selective in our approach. We cannot defend this principle and then defy it in practice. As the leader of the movement to freer trade, the United States cannot say: "The world should follow this path except when we tell them not to". It cannot oppose a system that it says is closed and anachronistic by passing laws which imitate that system. It cannot oppose isolationism by isolating selective adversaries.

Canada and the United States no doubt share a common objective in Cuba and that is in democracy, economic reform and respect for human rights. The difference is in the best way to achieve the result. The Americans believe in isolating Cuba; we prefer to engage Cuba. History will have to judge which approach is better. I would only note that the American policy has been in place now for

30 years. Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan and Bush have all come and gone but Fidel Castro remains in power.

Why this particular approach to Cuba? The United States has profound differences with China and some other countries as well, but that does not stop them from doing billions of dollars worth of trade with China. No one would suggest that because the United States carries on trade with China they disapprove any less of certain Chinese policies. So why this double standard with respect to Cuba? The confusion does not end there.

On June 21 the state department's co-ordinator for Cuban affairs said that Helms-Burton is designed to discourage foreign investment in Cuba. That is what he said. It was a candid, straightforward statement of fact. Yet just last month the president's special envoy to Cuba told an Ottawa press conference that the United States was in no way telling Canadians to stop their trade or investment with Cuba. There was no gun to our head. Rather, he went on to say that Canadians should invest in a strategic way that would help to advance democracy in Cuba.

It would seem that trade and investment with Cuba are okay as long as they meet U.S. approval. This is what happens when policy is made on the run in response to election year pressures. It is no way to conduct sound long term policy. It is a throwback to the old days when governments believed that trade should be controlled according to circumstances and not according to agreed upon rules. It is a look back, not a step forward.

There is another aspect of this legislation which is troubling in that it affects both friend and foe alike. Helms-Burton has taken a U.S.-Cuba problem and made it a much broader international trade and investment issue. Two sections of the act are particularly offensive. Title III allows U.S. citizens with claims on expropriated property in Cuba to sue foreign nationals, such as Canadians, in the United States courts. If the company has no assets in the United States that it can seize upon, an American could try to come to the Canadian judicial system and ask the courts to enforce the ruling and seize assets here. Two months ago President Clinton suspended this right to sue for six months. He can change his mind though at any time. As long as Helms-Burton is on the books, the threat of lawsuits exist.

Title IV of the act allows the U.S. government to deny entry to executives of companies which the U.S. state department deems to be trafficking in property subject to a U.S. claim. This ban extends also to the families, the children of these executives.

The special envoy said that there was no gun to our head. However, it seems to me that there are two guns: one is title III and the other is title IV. Both are fully loaded but one of them, title III, has the safety catch on until it is decided by the Government of the United States to release it.

Helms-Burton is also regressive in other ways. At a time when our hemisphere is coming together as never before, Helms-Burton seeks not to integrate but to isolate. With initiatives such as the Miami summit and the free trade area of the Americas, we have the chance to tie the disparate elements of this hemisphere into a new relationship, one built on openness and the free exchange of ideas, individuals and products. Helms-Burton runs counter to this impulse and would erect barriers, not bridges, create resentments, not relationships and introduce tensions, not trusts.

Finally, Helms-Burton is unacceptable because it flouts long established international legal practices for settling disputes between nations regarding claims by foreign investors who have had their property expropriated. These established practices have served the world well in the past. By choosing to ignore them now, Helms-Burton sets a dangerous precedent.

If the U.S. behaves in this way today, what is to stop other countries from adopting similar measures tomorrow? If such an international free for all ensues, we will undo much of what has already been achieved in bringing trade under international rules.

For all of these reasons, Canada has objected to Helms-Burton. We have raised this matter to the highest levels of the American administration. I have met with my Mexican and American counterparts for consultations under chapter 20 of NAFTA.

Canada has also raised this matter with other trading partners both within the World Trade Organization and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. In fact in the current negotiations going on at the OECD on the multilateral agreement on investment, we are seeking protection against just this type of measure. We are certainly not going to be letting up on our efforts there.

Led by Canada's opposition to Helms-Burton, both the European Union and Mexico are drafting legislation which is similar to these FEMA amendments. Other nations are considering doing the same.

Nor is the criticism and concern just coming from outside the United States. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. National Association of Manufacturers have urged the President not to implement title III of Helms-Burton. The United States, they said, benefits as much as anyone-which is true-from strong, stable and reliable rules regarding trade. In other words, even the business associations which represent many of the companies that might be able to sue under title III are opposed to its applications. They know the dangers. They know what is at stake.

All of this pressure both from within the United States and abroad helps, but there is still more we can do on our own which is to make the changes that are necessary to the Foreign Extraterritorial Measures Act.

We believe the amendments before this House are an appropriate response.

The amendments that we are proposing will strengthen FEMA in two ways. It will permit the attorney general to block any attempt by a foreign claimant to enforce a judgment under a law such as Helms-Burton, and it will give Canadians recourse to Canadian courts if awards are made against them in American courts. In other words, Canadians can apply in our courts to recover or claw back from the American claimant an amount equivalent to that awarded against them by the American court.

Let us take the example of a U.S. national that wins a suit under Helms-Burton against a Canadian in an American court. The Canadian has no assets in the United States. The U.S. national would have to ask a Canadian court to enforce the judgment. The Attorney General of Canada would now be able to issue an order blocking this process under the amendments we propose. If the American court ordered the Canadian to pay damages, he or she could sue the American in the Canadian courts to recoup the full amount of the award. This amount plus costs in both countries would be applied against the American assets in Canada.

One of the problems we have encountered in the past is the refusal by Canadian companies to comply with FEMA because the penalties from the foreign country are higher than those extracted by our own law. In order to increase the chances of compliance we are increasing financial penalties under the act from a maximum of $10,000 to $1.5 million.

The amendments would also allow the attorney general to place foreign laws that he considers objectionable on the list under FEMA. This listing would give the government greater flexibility and would provide for a quicker response time in defending Canadian interests.

All of the amendments we are proposing are moderate and defensive in nature. It is our hope that they will never need to be employed. They are a reactive antidote if we need them, but it is vital that they be available to Canadian companies in order to do the best we can to help them protect themselves should this ever be required.

I call again upon the United States to remember the principles for which they have fought and through which such progress has

been achieved. I ask them to remember the benefits that freer trade has brought them and others in the past, and the still greater promise of freer trade in future.

We have come too far and made too much progress to stop now.

We have broken down too many barriers to begin constructing new ones. We must not sacrifice those principles to expedience. Let us work together to expand the circle of opportunity by expanding the benefits of freer trade. Let us work together to engage, not isolate, Cuba and all the other Cubas around the globe so that the freedoms, the hopes and the opportunities of freer trade will be brought to all people in all parts of the world.

[Trade, September 18th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I think that is an important question.

As the Minister of Foreign Affairs and I have said on numerous occasions, for a great number of years we have been exercising efforts to bring about a more open and democratic system in Cuba, to bring about economic reforms and respect for human rights.

Unlike the United States, we have preferred a policy of engagement, as opposed to isolation, which quite frankly has not worked in the 30 years it has been in place.

The purpose of our opposition to Helms-Burton is simply to protect the right to have a Canadian trade policy and to have Canadian companies able to rely on that when they are doing business with Cuba.

[International Trade, September 18th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, the agreement with Israel will be brought before this House and there will be every opportunity to consider every aspect of it in a very short period of time, as there will in the case of the agreement with Chile. Both of those agreements will help to increase our exports and our opportunity for market access.