Ron MacDonald

[An Act To Revoke The Conviction Of Louis David Riel, December 5th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce has asked whether the government intends to amend Canadian law to permit the referral of an accused person to the new proposed international criminal court which is currently being debated by the general assembly in New York.

Canada has been a leading advocate in support of the establishment of a permanent international criminal court that would try major international crimes, such as war crimes and crimes against humanity, and which would obviate the need to establish ad hoc tribunals as has been done for the situations in the former Yugoslavia as well as Rwanda.

In order to answer the question posed I believe that it is first necessary to review the history of this issue before talking about the need or timetable to enact legislation in Canada.

In December 1994 the general assembly established the ad hoc committee on the establishment of an international criminal court to review the major substantive administrative issues arising out of the International Law Commission's draft statute for an international criminal court. The report of the committee was considered by the 50th session of the general assembly in 1995 which decided that a preparatory committee should be struck with a view to preparing a widely acceptable consolidated text of a convention for an international criminal court. This would be the next step toward holding a diplomatic conference of plenipotentiaries to finalize the convention.

The preparatory committee on the establishment of an international criminal court found many major issues that remain to be resolved. The general assembly is currently considering the interim report of the preparatory committee. It is likely that the general assembly will reaffirm the mandate of the committee to continue its work in 1997 and 1998 with a view to having a diplomatic conference in 1998 to conclude the final negotiation.

Canada has been a leading advocate of a permanent international criminal court but it is only after a final text of a convention is concluded, when we will know what is legally required of us, that Canada can enact legislation designed to implement the convention that will establish the court. At present the UN does not even have the complete comprehensive draft convention.

When the time comes to enact legislation in order to implement the future international convention that would establish the court, let me assure this House that Canada intends to enact the necessary legislation quickly. However, at this time it is premature to be enacting legislation. We are still at least two years away from the final negotiations that would conclude the international convention on the creation of the court.

There are many complicated questions to be resolved by the UN, not the least of which are defining what surrender process will be used and defining the role of national laws in relation to obligations to assist the court.

On the domestic level Department of Justice officials are already considering what amendments would be necessary in future to provide the requisite assistance to the proposed international criminal court. Internationally we are playing an important role on the UN preparatory committee.

At the preparatory committee Canada is attempting to ensure that the scheme that is eventually adopted will be flexible enough to accommodate and promote co-operation to the court from all legal systems.

In summary, this government is working toward the creation of an international criminal court domestically and at the United Nations. I would like to thank the hon. member for his question on this important issue at this time.

[Trade, December 5th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, in reply to the member's question, I wish to say that there is no history of dumping measures between Canada and Chile. We are not aware of any evidence of the dumping of salmon by Chile into Canada. As the member knows, Canadian imports of salmon have been duty free for a number of years.

I wish to assure the member that if there is evidence of dumping we will use the appropriate mechanisms in the agreement to seek a proper remedy, up to and including countervail duties which are still permitted under the agreement.

[Questions On The Order Paper, November 8th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand.

[Forestry, November 8th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, earlier in question period the Minister for International Trade in response to a question from the member for Comox-Alberni indicated that he would be tabling certain documents.

If it is agreeable to the Chair, we are awaiting receipt of one of the documents which is being translated, at which time we will deposit it with the clerk today.

[Trade, November 5th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to assure the hon. member that the Canadian government has pursued very aggressively the necessity of having side deals both on labour and the environment in talks with the Chileans. I would like to inform the member that to date the talks have been very positive and we are very happy with the negotiations. There are some outstanding issues and until those outstanding issues are completed, the deal is not done.

However, on the issue of labour and side agreements at this point we do not see any problem with those side agreements holding up an overall agreement regarding the Canada-Chile free trade deal at some time in the future. That of course is pending the successful resolution of some of the other outstanding issues.

[Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, November 5th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I listened with interest and I am a bit surprised that the hon. member has made statements in this House that are patently false. They are not true.

The hon. member would have individuals believe that the government proceeded with this bill somehow through dark corridors in the dead of night and that parliamentarians were not apprised of the process as it was under way. That is simply not true.

It is important when statements are made which are factually incorrect that it is brought to the attention of the House and the people who are watching this debate. Indeed the member opposite asked why with such haste has this bill gone forward. I do not know where she or her party has been of late but this is simply not the case with this bill.

On November 23, 1994, quite a while ago I would say the member, there was a news release. It was not done in the dark of night. It was put on the wire for the English and French press across the country which indicated that the Prime Minister and the late Prime Minister Rabin officially announced the launching of the trade negotiations.

On November 29 and 30, 1994 the chief negotiator for Canada briefed the federal-provincial trade policy committee and invited input from provincial governments, including the government in Quebec City.

On January 14, the Canada Gazette published the official notice requesting submissions from any interested parties.

On January 23, 1995 the Department of Finance wrote 35 companies and industry reps requesting comments and views regarding negotiations, particularly on things like rules of origins. Some of those companies were in the province of Quebec.

There were at least a dozen SAGITs, industry meetings that took place, and those representatives are from the sectoral industries right across Canada.

On June 23, 1995 Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada distributed a working paper on Israel's agriculture and trade to the federal-provincial agricultural trade policy committee and the agricultural food and beverage SAGITs, again representing that particular sector right across the country.

On January 12, 1996 another news release: "Canada and Israel officials reach tentative agreement on the proposed trade deal".

On January 19, 1996 the chief negotiator held a conference call with the provinces. And so on and so on down until June 11, 1996 when the rules of origin negotiated provides update to all of the provinces at the seed trade meetings.

On July 31 a news release was made stating that Canada and Israel signed the free trade deal.

In addition to that, the Bloc Quebecois caucus, the Reform Party caucus, the Liberal Party caucus and anybody who had an interest was offered a briefing by the senior officials who had negotiated this deal.

In addition to that, the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, on which we have three members from the Bloc Quebecois, did a vigorous examination of this bill.

The second thing she indicated, which I find misleading, is that the government is hiding something in this bill, otherwise why did it not pass the amendments of the Bloc Quebecois. I will tell the member that if her House leadership, at least those individuals in the research bureau who are supposed to know about proper form and content, would have looked at those amendments that were put at committee they would have found that they were clearly out of order. The reason those amendments were not put and voted upon is they were not in the proper form. They exceeded the scope of the bill. The chairman of the committee, who has as much authority in committee as the Speaker does in this place, indicated quite clearly that these motions were not in order. There was nothing nefarious about that. Nobody changed clerks in the middle of the stream to try to somehow subvert the rights and privileges of members of that committee. It was all above board and done according to the rules.

The last thing I want to say to the hon. member, which I think is important, is this is about trade for Canadian companies. There are real Canadian companies out there. Some of them may be in Dartmouth, some in Montreal, some in Winnipeg or some in North Bay, as I said before, that are having difficulty accessing this market. To indicate that somehow the Government of Canada has put trade ahead of those other very important issues like peace in the Middle East belies the facts. This government and our Minister of Foreign Affairs have been steadfast in his determination to use the goodwill that Canada has abroad to promote the peace process at every opportunity.

Concurrent with these negotiations and subsequent to these negotiations, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Prime Minister and other ministers of this government have made it extremely clear that it is Canada's wish and desire that the peace process continue, that it get back on track and that there is a successful conclusion to those negotiations.

With respect to human rights and other issues that the member has raised, this government has always been concerned about human rights but we fundamentally believe that a policy of exclusion means that if there are human rights violations in any jurisdiction they will only get worse. We do not follow that policy with Cuba nor with a number of other countries. The members opposite agree with the government's policy.

With respect to Israel and human rights, vis-à-vis the Israelis and the Palestinians, the Canadian government has been very clear. We have sent messages to both sides. We have said, in each and every instance, that the solution to the problems in the Middle East and more globally in other nations does not come from a policy of exclusion and containment but from one of inclusion and dialogue. Trade is one of the routes by which we can do that. We have done it successfully in the past and we will continue to do it.

I hope the member recognizes that members of her party have sat on this committee and have contributed a great deal. They understand what this is all about.

I hope that she will correct the record. There has not been an attempt by the government to hide this very public deal.

[Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, November 5th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate you, since this is the first opportunity I have had to do so, on your recent appointment. I know that you will add a great deal to the civility of the debate in the House and that you will ensure that members' privileges and rights are properly upheld. Indeed, you will add greatly to the decorum of the House. My congratulations on your appointment. It is long overdue.

My comments to the hon. member opposite again deal with different approaches to the bill.

The first approach obviously has to be that the bill was done not to benefit or to reward the Israelis or the Palestinians for any particular behaviour. It was done because Canadian companies, many of them resident in the province of Quebec had indicated they were having great trouble competing in the Israeli market.

There was mention that the government of late has come to the road of free trade and the member is correct. However, we have always indicated that when trade deals are done, that Canadian interests must be vigorously debated and defended during the negotiations. I think we have done that in this deal.

I am somewhat troubled by the approach by some members of the hon. member's party on this deal that because of the very serious situation in the Middle East we should just forget this, take the two years of negotiations and put the matter on hold until the situation is further resolved.

The member should understand first that the trade deal is meant to give Canadian companies access on an equal footing with their competitors from the United States and the European Union in the Israeli market. He also should know that the deal has been very carefully crafted to ensure that whatever benefits accrue to entrepreneurs and business people and the production of goods in Israel also apply equally to the occupied territories.

The member also knows full well that Canada has been very firm and very strong in its position with respect to the peace process. Indeed, we have used our stature in the international community to try to encourage both sides to get back to the table and deal one on one, face to face and finally put this very tragic issue behind all of us and bring peace to the Middle East.

I have pages of names of companies that deal with Israel. There are companies from Montreal that produce products but if they are destined for the Israeli market, they do not produce all of the product. They send it to the United States for finishing, which means jobs that Quebecers will not have. American workers finish the product so that it can be shipped into the Israeli market under the rules of origin requirement and it is given preferential tariff treatment under the Israel-U.S. arrangement.

Surely the member must know that to further delay this matter means lost jobs in Canadian companies that cannot be competitive. Those companies that have decided they can be competitive have gone south of the border and are literally exporting jobs from Montreal, Quebec, from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, and from Winnipeg and North Bay. It is literally stopping the job growth there could be if there was a level playing field.

Companies such as Price Waterhouse in Toronto have vigorously supported the deal and indicated that it must go forward. There is Nortel, and the Canada-Israel Industrial Research and Development Foundation which we heard in committee. There is the

Alliance of Manufacturers and Exporters of Canada. There are Freed and Freed International of Winnipeg; Teleglobe Canada Incorporated from Montreal; Pratt and Whitney in Ontario; and Air Canada. The list goes on and on of Canadian companies that provide jobs in the province of Quebec and throughout the Canadian economy because they are competitive and when they are given a level playing field they can get contracts which mean jobs for Canadians no matter where they live.

In light of all the member has said, does he not see the downside in not proceeding at this point? Does he agree with the position of the Canadian government, that it is by promoting trade, by getting Canadian companies and exporters into the Israeli and Palestinian areas that we will be most able to show the benefits from the normalization of relations in the political spirit as well as economically for the peoples who live in the region?

[Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, November 5th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I listened with interest to the hon. member opposite. Obviously he has a great deal of knowledge and an interest to have gained the knowledge of some of the complexities of dealing with the politics of the Middle East.

He quite eloquently described the wish of most Canadians and most people who live in peace around the world that countries such as Canada, which has a tremendous amount of goodwill, uses that goodwill to try to not isolate one side from the other. These countries should try to bring both sides together to make them understand that it is in everybody's interest that peace be pursued vigorously. The plans that have been laid down and the progress that has been made in the past has to be built on. At the end of the day the people who have suffered so long in that region because of wars and hatreds should be allowed to live in peace and to participate in their communities and their economies without fear of retribution, conflict, terrorism and war.

I agree 100 per cent with what the member said. The disagreement that I may have, however, is in the approach he takes with respect to the bill and how that impacts on it.

The member opposite moved a motion which would put the bill back in committee. This would likely mean that the bill would not be implemented at the beginning of January which is the agreed upon date.

How can the member reconcile what he has just said with respect to Canada using its good name, good offices and its international reputation to try to get both sides together when we would be effectively saying to one side that we have taken sides in this conflict? The Canadian government has made it very clear that it wants this peace process back on track. We have made it very clear that when we deal with the Israeli settlements on the West Bank and Gaza that we do not believe those settlements should be there. It is not helpful to the peace process.

We have implored the Israeli government to get back on track, to get the negotiations going with the Palestinian authorities so that the people, not the politicians, can enjoy peace at long last.

How could he reconcile those statements, which I happen to agree with, with the position that the member's party has taken? The position would be that we would then go in and say to the Israelis: "We are not going to sign the deal that we negotiated in good faith because we do not happen to like the democratically elected government of the day and how it is pursuing a particular peace proposal".

Does the member believe we have such leverage with the legislation that it is somehow going to turn them around or would it be better to continue the dialogue, to ask the Israeli government as strongly as we can, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs was extremely strong on this just a few weeks ago, to get back on track with the peace process?

With the Palestinian authorities, the facts speak for themselves. Members of the government, including myself, have concerns. We want to make sure that we are not advantaging one side to the disadvantage of the other. We have taken pains to ensure that this deal will apply to goods that are produced in the Palestinian territories.

I say this with the greatest respect for the opposition, nobody from the Palestinian side has come back. We have had over a year of discussions with the Palestinians. I understand that they have a larger political agenda and may even agree with the larger political agenda. But they are following a parallel track. They are pursuing the larger political agenda for the Palestinians in the occupied territories. They also recognize that the road to a lasting peace has

to be built on investment from the outside, markets for Palestinian goods and access to markets.

They have not told us no. If the Palestinian authorities had believed that the best policy Canada could pursue for peace in the Middle East was not to have this deal, not to have the economic benefits accrue to Palestinian enterprises as well, they have had plenty of opportunity to tell us but they have not.

How can the member reconcile his obviously very deeply felt comments with respect to the peace process in the Middle East and the ability that Canada has to leverage its good name with both sides? He is right. We have had peacekeepers in that region forever. Canadians are highly regarded. Is it not a better role for Canada to play, to have these benefits extended to the Palestinian territories, including the West Bank and the Gaza, not just for the benefit of the Palestinians and not just for the benefit of the Israelis. Remember why we have done this. We have done it for Canadian companies.

I have dozens of letters here from Canadian companies that employ people in communities right across the country. They have told us that this is the right thing to do. Some of the companies that have had dealings in the Middle East have indicated to us that the best way that Canada can increase its leverage on the peace process is to have more Canadian companies there, making investments both in the occupied territories and in Israel.

That is how we are going to take the good name that Canada has and that is how we are going to have a better impact by way of influencing both sides to get back to the table and fulfil what seemed to be a promising peace process that was started about a year ago.

[Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, November 5th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague has spoken about the benefits of the free trade deal, both for Israel and for Palestinians in the occupied territories.

I know he was probably listening in the lobby. The spokesperson for the official opposition indicated many times during his speech that somehow the government should stop this process because it was not in the best interests of the Palestinians. The member who just spoke mentioned some documents which clearly indicate that the Canadian government has been in constant dialogue with Palestinian authorities.

I would like the hon. member's comments about what I said in committee the other day. I said that sometimes some of us in public office believe we have to speak for everyone as if no one other than us has a voice. In this case, is it his belief that the Palestinian authorities have had ample opportunity to express their viewpoint particularly if they were opposed to this deal because it was not in their best economic or political interests?

I would like to hear his comments with respect to the seminars, which are apparently being held this week jointly sponsored by the minister of industry for the Palestinian authority and the Canadian embassy officials from Israel.

[Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, November 5th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure today to debate Bill C-61, which is in keeping with our government's commitment to work with Canadian industry to ensure that we work on behalf of Canadian industry in removing tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade in markets that are of concern to Canada. Quite clearly this free trade deal with Israel is an area that Canada has worked on over the last number of years. It was with great anticipation in some industry sectors that Canada actually started the negotiations to remove the tariff barriers to trade. The Prime Minister initiated these discussions with the former prime minister of Israel in 1994. Some people have asked why Canada would want to conclude a free trade deal with Israel. Why is Israel an important state? At committee we were told that the trade figures are not so high as to make this an obvious priority.

The Canadian government proceeded in 1994 with the initial discussions with the Israeli government. A number of Canadian companies, many resident in the province of Quebec, were having great difficulty competing in the Israeli market. This was happening because the United States and the European Union had entered into free trade arrangements with the state of Israel.

In many cases Canadian businesses found their products were in a less competitive position than they would have been. They were not getting the preferential tariff treatment that goods provided from the United States and the European Union were getting because of the free trade deals that had been negotiated between those partners.

The Canadian government felt that this market, although small, was where Canadian companies could grow. It was a market in the Middle East where we are extremely interested in expanding trading and investment activity.

The House knows the importance of trade to Canada. Anyone who has been here or has worked in industry recognizes that the health of the Canadian economy, the jobs that must grow in this economy, are going to come by encouraging our incredibly competitive companies in the sectors in which they operate to look abroad for new markets. As most people in this House know, maybe some outside do not know, Canada is the leader in the G-7 countries with respect to our percentage of GDP that comes from trade.

The job creation record of this government since it came into power a few years ago shows that over 600,000 jobs have been created in the economy. Most jobs are related to trading activities, not just with the United States and Mexico but abroad. It is the fundamental belief of the government that if we want to see the economy grow, want to create jobs for Canadians from coast to coast to coast, then we must be outward looking, we must work with companies and other governments to ensure that those companies have an even footing when it comes to competing in foreign markets.

This was clearly the case with Israel. The agreement was signed in July 1996 after an almost unprecedented level of consultation with Canadian industry. I will refer to that very briefly.

We have in Canada what are called sectoral advisory groups and international trade. We also have groups with the provinces. Starting November 23, 1994 when the news release first came out literally dozens of meetings-I have pages of meetings-that took place with various sectoral advisory groups leading up to July 31, 1996 when it was announced that Canada and Israel had signed the free trade agreement.

Quite clearly this was not done on the back of a matchbook. It was a very complex set of negotiations. There were some areas which the Israeli government was very slow to move on but our negotiators were firm in their resolve. We were flexible in our approach but at the end of the day we knew that in order for Canadian companies to be competitive in the Israeli market Canadian companies had to be dealing on a level playing field.

With the special treatment afforded the United States and the European Union it meant that Canadian companies could not be as competitive as they had to be in order to get those contracts, service that market and create jobs in Canada.

I remember hearing a member from Quebec tell us a real story. A lot of times the bureaucrats will tell us that this has to be done for this or that reason but this was a real story. It was about a company in Montreal that was exporting into the Israeli market. Its problem was that it could not compete with American produced goods because of the preferential tariff afforded under the U.S.-Israel free trade agreement. The company did as much processing of the product in Canada as it could and then shipped a semi-finished

product to the United States. In that way the value add could be done in the United States and those goods would then qualify under the rules of origin in the U.S.-Israel free trade deal. Those goods then could be shipped into the Israeli market as U.S. goods. That meant real jobs for Canadians.

We understand on our side of the House that the Montreal economy for a whole variety of reasons is not performing at the level at which we would like. However, for that one company and dozens of others which employ Canadians who live in and around the great city of Montreal, this bill gives them a level playing field. It means that they do not have to semi-finish their product and ship it to the United States where citizens of the United States gain the economic benefit and employment and the U.S. municipalities, states and federal government get the taxes that go with that type of economic activity. Under this deal that particular company and dozens of others like it can make sure that all of the product and all of the value add is done in Canada and that Canadians get 100 per cent of the net economic benefit for the competitiveness of the product and the entrepreneurship of the owners of those companies.

We went ahead and did that. In the free trade deal with Israel we made sure that it also applies to the Palestinian territories. This has been a concern of the Canadian government, of most members of the House and of most people who are observers of what is going on in the Middle East.

When these negotiations began we had great hopes that the peace process, which was going on in fits and starts, would gain some steam. Indeed, Canadians and most people around the world were very happy with what had happened as the peace process gained some steam and that the former administration in Israel had started to make some real progress toward eliminating some of the outstanding issues and solving some of the problems so that at long last the world there would be peace in the Middle East.

One of the things Canada said from the very beginning was that if a free trade deal was negotiated with Israel, it was absolutely fundamental that goods that were produced in the occupied territories should also benefit from the preferential tariff that free trade would bring. Indeed, it has been the government's intention from the first meetings that took place with the Israelis that the Palestinian authorities would also be consulted to ensure that any benefit that accrued to Israel would also accrue to goods produced in the Palestinian territories.

All through that peace, and most particularly starting on January 12, 1995, Canada's chief negotiator was speaking with senior Palestinian officials to ensure that they understood that we had negotiated the CITA, the Canada-Israeli trade agreement, in principle and that the benefits would be extended to goods produced in the West Bank and Gaza as was agreed to in the earlier meetings and teleconferences that senior overseas officials had with the Palestinian authorities.

Again, in July and August the head of the mission in Israel had met with senior ministers in the Palestinian authority to ensure that they knew full well the terms and conditions of the Canada-Israel free trade deal and reaffirmed Canada's commitment to enact the necessary regulations after this legislation was ratified through the House and Senate of Canada so that the Palestinian territory would be included in any benefit that was given.

Again in September a commercial counsellor from our embassy and our second secretariat met with senior Palestinian ministers of the economy and trade and deputy ministers to provide a hard copy of the Canada-Israel free trade agreement.

On October 20 Ambassador Berger, a former member of this place, made sure that if the Palestinian officials had any questions that the questions were properly couched so our officials could respond appropriately to any concerns that they had.

On October 27 meetings took place because the Canadian government was very concerned about some comments that had been made during the legislative process that somehow the Palestinians were excluded from the benefits of this deal.

Nothing could be further from the truth. As we speak meetings are going on in the occupied territories, in Palestine, which have been co-sponsored by the Palestinian ministry of trade and industry and the Canadian government via the Canadian embassy in Israel. The object of the meetings is to try to disseminate information to Palestinian businesses about the benefits of this free trade deal for goods that are produced in the occupied territories by Palestinian entrepreneurs.

All through this peace process the Canadian government has been extremely clear that it has always been its intention that any economic benefit that accrues to goods produced by entrepreneurs operating out of Israel proper would also be extended to entrepreneurs for goods produced in the occupied territories.

To ensure transparency I should tell the House about another thing we have done. At committee the other day, on behalf of the government, I gave the committee a number of undertakings with the assumption that the House passes this legislation, the Senate deals with it in an appropriately hasty fashion, it is proclaimed in law by the end of the year so we can live up to the timetable of the agreement and have it enacted on January 1, 1997.

In order to provide members of the standing committee with the assurance they needed that this deal will apply to the occupied

Palestinian territories, I have agreed on behalf of the government to do three things. First, I have agreed to put the draft regulations to the House committee, which is unusual because the regulations would normally be gazetted after the bill was passed at the end of December.

The committee has deliberated and added to our understanding and discussion of not only the economic circumstances surrounding this deal but also of the larger geopolitical circumstances within which this deal has been constructed. I would hope that by next week the members of the standing committee on foreign affairs would have at their disposal the draft regulations so they can satisfy themselves that after this bill is passed into law, the regulations will do what the officials said they would do, which is de facto extend the benefits of the Canada-Israeli free trade deal to the Palestinian territories.

Second, on behalf of the government I have undertaken to file the letters we have received to date from the Israeli authorities with the clerk of the committee thus making them public documents. These letters indicate that the Israelis understand and agree that this deal applies to the Palestinian territories and for the purposes of this deal they will treat any goods produced in the occupied territories the same and give them the same passage as if they were produced within the sovereign state of Israel.

We have a letter from the Israelis on file, which we will reconfirm. It indicates quite clearly that they will do what they have to do with respect to rules of origin but they will do what they have to do under this deal to ensure the goods produced in the Palestinian territories flow seamlessly through Israel and into the Canadian market, and vice versa that goods which are covered under this deal from the Canadian market will flow seamlessly through Israel and into the occupied territories.

That is a very strong document which has legal force. It is an undertaking from one government to the other to not impede the goods that are produced in the occupied territories or that are produced in Canada and destined for the occupied territories.

It is also our hope that by that time we will have a letter back from the Palestinian authority with whom we are in almost daily contact. We hope the letter expresses agreement that the benefits and terms of the Canada-Israeli deal do indeed flow into the occupied territories.

All of those letters will be made public when they are deposited with the clerk of the committee. Then the members of the foreign affairs committee who have raised some very good suggestions and legitimate concerns will be able to examine in the light of day how everything we said would be done to extend this deal to the territories indeed will have been done.

We must not lose sight of the fact that this deal first and foremost has been done not to benefit the Israelis, not to benefit the Palestinians, but to benefit Canadian companies that are active in that region.

We must recognize that there are very major and disturbing issues which are yet to be settled in the Middle East with respect to the peace process in Israel, the status of the West Bank and Gaza. However, to date nobody on the Palestinian side has told us this is not a good deal, that it should not go forward and that they do not want the benefits of the Canada-Israel free trade deal to be equally applied to goods produced in the Palestinian territories.

We on the government side continue at the diplomatic level and government to government to encourage the Israeli government to put the peace process back on track. To date we have done everything we can in meetings and discussions between our foreign affairs minister and heads of state to indicate quite clearly it is Canada's desire that the peace process which was started and seems to have faltered of late be put back on track. It is the logic of the Canadian government that it is only through peace in the Middle East, no matter if they are Palestinians or Israelis, no matter who they are, that they will be able to live to their full potential. The region will be able to grow and stability will be long lasting when the outstanding issues with respect to the peace process are determined.

Canada continues to support a very strong effort by the international community. We are part of that community. We are part of the effort to see the peace process concluded properly.

At the same time we know that for the Palestinians, those individuals who seek to have their political situation defined properly in the international context, who seek peace and for the Israelis who seek peace and security, that once this is all done, peace and security will only be long lasting if the economic potential of the region is realized. Then the individuals, Palestinians, Israelis, or whoever they are will be able to live and to prosper in the region with the type of jobs and wealth that are required for internal and external stability.

This free trade deal is timely. We believe in spite of the fact that the peace process appears to have slowed, that the benefits which are in this deal are not one sided. The benefits, because they will apply equally to the goods produced in the occupied territories and Israeli goods, will be working on a parallel track to the peace process. As peace comes to the Middle East we will have a greater economic input in building the required economic stability for all the states concerned.

Those who have been critical have said that the timing is bad. The timing may not be the way we wanted it but it still is timely. For those individuals who are living in the occupied territories and find themselves cut off from international trade, even though we do

not do a great deal of trade, this is an opportunity for them to find new markets in Canada. For Canadian companies that are working in the Middle East, this gives them equal access. It gives them a level playing field so that their goods can compete on an equal footing with European goods and with goods from the United States in the Israeli market.

Further, as this free trade deal gets implemented, more and more Canadian companies will become involved in that market. It will open a window of opportunity for further trade in all of the European countries and further investment by Canadian companies in industries in Israel, in the occupied territories, in Egypt, in Jordan, in all the states in the Middle East.

In conclusion, it is my hope that the consensus we seemed to have in this House at second reading will continue at report stage and third reading of this bill. I hope we will be able to dispatch this bill to the other place. I hope when it does get to the other place that they recognize that this bill has been carefully crafted. It has taken over two years of negotiation. It is supported by over 20 different sectoral advisor groups on international trade which the government has put up.

First and foremost, the agreement will give Canadian companies operating in the region a level playing field. It will give them equal access to those markets with their American and European counterparts. In the long term it will assist in some small way in ensuring that once the peace process is concluded, that Canadian companies and Canadian investment will add to the stability of the Middle East.