House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2006, with 43% of the vote.
Bulk Water February 12th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, the partners to the North American Free Trade Agreement actually came together and signed in 1993 an agreement that water in its natural state was not covered in any way by the North American Free Trade Agreement. It is against the law to export bulk water, to remove bulk water from its natural state, from its water basins. That party was in power for a long time and it said the same thing.
Bulk Water February 12th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, under NAFTA there is no obligation on the part of Canada or any of the NAFTA partners to export bulk water in any form. In fact, there is legislation in place that protects against the commoditization of water, as long as water remains in its natural state, and on boundary waters, it cannot be removed without the permission of the federal government under law, for export or for any other reason.
There is good legislation in place. If the Munk Centre study has something new to tell us, we will certainly study that.
Softwood Lumber February 6th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, I had the occasion to meet with some of the Canadian forest industry this week. I have to say that they are very happy to have the protection that the softwood lumber agreement provides them, because without the softwood lumber agreement, there would be more vicious, more damaging trade actions and they would not have the over $5 billion in cash that was put into those companies' treasuries as a result of the softwood lumber agreement.
Softwood Lumber January 30th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, the reason the U.S. protectionists do not like the softwood lumber agreement is that it prevents them from bringing more trade remedies against Canada. It prevents them from bringing anti-dumping cases. It prevents them from bring countervailing subsidy allegations. It constrains them and they do not like it.
Softwood Lumber January 30th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, we all know that the U.S. Coalition for Fair Lumber Imports is one of the most protectionist organizations in all of North America. It opposes every policy that is announced in the forestry area in Canada. This one is no different.
The U.S. government has not brought this issue to arbitration. I do not expect it will.
Colombia November 28th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, the government believes that if we are going to pursue human rights, if we are going to pursue democracy, and if we are going to strengthen the governance and the democratic freedoms in a country like Colombia, we have to provide an economic basis that is legitimate, that is legal, and that takes the country out of the cycle of violence and poverty that it has been in.
That is what we are doing. We are working on trade. We are working across a series of initiatives that will help Colombia build capacity to have a healthy and strong democracy.
Automobile Industry October 24th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, we will only present a free trade agreement to Parliament that is in the greatest interest of Canada. We clearly are focused on non-tariff barriers. We are focused on tariff barriers. We are focused on not just the auto sector, but also on every sector in Canada that can benefit from or be affected by a trade agreement with Korea.
Automobile Industry October 24th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, there is no free trade agreement with Korea. There are negotiations with Korea. There will only be a free trade agreement with Korea if there are substantial, positive benefits for Canada.
I am surprised the hon. member is buying into the fraudulent economics we saw when CAW came here yesterday and alleged that 33,000 jobs in manufacturing would be lost because of bilateral free trade agreements. It was complete nonsense. Those jobs have been under pressure from countries with which we do not have free trade agreements.
International Trade October 23rd, 2007
Mr. Speaker, I am getting a lot of business today and I would like to thank the hon. member for Peterborough for his question. He is quite right. Intellectual property theft is a particularly pernicious form of piracy. It hurts creators and innovators. It puts consumers in danger and it supports organized crime.
I am, therefore, pleased to announce today that Canada, along with Japan, the United States, the European Union and Switzerland are entering into negotiations to develop an anti-counterfeiting trade agreement that will be a model of intellectual property protection for the world.
Automobile Industry October 23rd, 2007
Mr. Speaker, when there is a free trade agreement, it will come before the House, be viewed by the House and voted on by the House. Therefore, I candidly do not know what the hon. member is talking about.