Andrew Leslie

[International Trade, October 5th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, let me continue with the list of successes in the renegotiated NAFTA.

This agreement is a massive step forward for progressive trade. We, for example, have the strongest labour chapter of any trade agreement to which Canada is party. In fact, the enforceable provisions that protect women's rights, minority rights, indigenous rights and environmental protections are the strongest in any Canadian trade agreement to date.

As National Chief Perry Bellegarde of the Assembly of First Nations recently said, “The provisions addressing Indigenous Peoples in the USMCA make it the most inclusive international trade agreement for Indigenous peoples to date.”

This is a good deal.

[International Trade, October 5th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, we got a good deal, unlike the Conservatives' recommendations in times gone by.

This deal improves on the initial NAFTA in the following ways. We removed the investor-state dispute system that allowed companies to sue Canada for hundreds of millions of dollars. We got rid of the energy ratchet clause, which restricted the Canadian government from access to our energy resources, and this is good news for our oil patch workers. The new auto rules of origin are great news for Canadian workers. We also have much stronger labour and environmental chapters, and we protected chapter 19.

This is a good deal.

[International Trade, October 5th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the government got a good deal.

Let me explain something. The Conservative post-battle courage is ironic, given that last year, Stephen Harper and the Conservatives were imploring us to capitulate and accept any deal at any price. Let me quote from Harper's memo, “it does not matter whether current American proposals are worse than what we have now.”

Over and over, the Conservatives urged us to take Harper's advice. That was not our approach, and we got a good deal.

[Dairy Industry, October 4th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, we fully support our dairy farmers, their families and their communities. We must remember that the United States wanted to destroy the supply management system. We protected it.

This agreement will provide access to markets, but the most important thing is that the future of supply management is not in question. We will always support our farmers and our dairy producers. The Prime Minister had a good meeting with dairy farmers this morning.

[Public Transportation, October 2nd, 2018]

Madam Speaker, we recognize the importance of having a national passenger transportation system that works for all people in Canada. We acknowledge the challenges faced by members of affected communities, including those of the hon. member, especially indigenous communities, as a result of the loss of provincial bus services in Saskatchewan. We are encouraged to see recent expressions of interest by some Canadian bus carriers that are using different business models and equipment to fill some of the gaps.

Again, I would encourage the Government of Saskatchewan to engage with municipalities, communities, including Indigenous communities, and the various stakeholders to promote the development of alternative transportation options that would meet the safe mobility needs of its travellers.

[Public Transportation, October 2nd, 2018]

Madam Speaker, I cannot thank my hon. colleague enough for her very valid points, with which I wholeheartedly agree. Transportation affects the daily lives of people all across Canada, and we remain committed to providing travellers with a national transportation system that is safe and reliable and continues to serve our communities.

Our transportation 2030 initiative was brought forward to provide just such a strategic plan for the future of transportation in Canada, which is a key focus of this initiative. Of course, this government has allocated historic proportions of resources to national transportation. To do so, we work co-operatively with the provinces and municipalities, so it is a tripartite agreement wherein all three partners have either to contribute or to agree to fund the actual projects at the local level.

We recognize the difficulties some travellers, including indigenous peoples, as referred to by my hon. colleague, may have been facing since the withdrawal of intercity bus services by the Saskatchewan Transportation Company. I would like to take this opportunity and this time to encourage the Government of Saskatchewan to engage with communities, including indigenous communities, and different stakeholders, including the municipalities, to promote the development of alternative transportation options that would meet the safe mobility needs of travellers.

The Government of Canada stands ready to do its part, and we look forward to moving this requirement forward to ease the legitimate concerns raised by my hon. colleague.

[International Trade, October 2nd, 2018]

Madam Speaker, the USMCA is further evidence that our government has the interests of workers and the middle class at the very forefront of all our decisions. Reaching this agreement will be the security and stability that enable further economic prosperity. It reduces uncertainty. It creates the conditions for increased investment, which will benefit our workers.

ln fact, Jerry Dias of Unifor said yesterday that this was a much better deal than the deal that was signed 24 years ago. Quite frankly, he knows more than all of us put together with regard to labour.

Just as we fought for Canada's interest at the negotiating table, so too will we continue to fight for the interests of our workers when it comes to the steel and aluminum tariffs.

[International Trade, October 2nd, 2018]

Madam Speaker, reaching an agreement with the United States and with Mexico on the new USMCA is good news for Canada and good news for our workers and consumers. ln fact, the new auto rules of origin components of the United States-Mexico-Canada agreement will level the playing field for our Canadian auto workers. Specifically, because it will require 40% to 45% of a car producer's activities to be carried out by workers who earn at least $16 an hour, our skilled workers will be able to take advantage of the fact that greater volumes will be built in Canada. That is a key component of this new trade deal.

We have also significantly strengthened the labour chapter, including by making it subject to a dispute settlement mechanism. Of note, this now includes provisions to address violence against workers exercising their labour rights, protections against sex-based discrimination and a provision to prohibit the importation of goods produced by forced or compulsory labour.

Another key Canadian objective in the NAFTA negotiations was to obtain an exemption from future potential use of this measure, including against Canada's auto sector. We have successfully done that through the side letter on section 232 tariffs, which is a unique agreement that no other country has been able to arrange with the United States.

This includes a 60-day exemption should any future 232 measures be imposed, which we would use to come to a mutually beneficial outcome through negotiation.

While the section 232 tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum remain, very unfortunately, their elimination remains an absolute and top priority for our government, the minister and myself. lt is something the Americans have indicated they are more than willing to work on over the next while. We have momentum now, having concluded this deal, and we will be taking advantage of that momentum to intensify our conversations about steel and aluminum tariffs unjustly put against our workers and factories.

ln the meantime, our strong responsive measures to defend our workers remain in place. This includes $16.6 billion in reciprocal measures against U.S. imports and over $100 million in loans that we have provided to small and medium-sized steel and aluminum businesses to ease them in their time of pain and challenge.

We are also challenging these U.S. 232 tariffs under the World Trade Organization rules and under NAFTA. That we can challenge such provisions through NAFTA illustrates just how important it is we have reached an agreement.

Our teams worked tirelessly to ensure we could retain the dispute settlement chapter, specifically chapter 19, as has been tirelessly advocated by my hon. friend. lt is essential to defend our workers, which our government will always do.

[The Environment, October 2nd, 2018]

Madam Speaker, our government has worked with coastal and indigenous communities, and affected stakeholders and partners, to ensure the optimal development and implementation of a comprehensive national strategy to address abandoned and wrecked boats.

The wrecked, abandoned or hazardous vessels act is currently under review in the Senate. This legislation, once passed, will enhance federal powers to take proactive measures on problematic vessels and create a new compliance and enforcement regime to address abandoned and wrecked vessels.

Over the short term, the federal government is providing support for the assessment and removal of the highest-risk small abandoned boats, as mentioned previously.

Together, these measures ensure a comprehensive approach to abandoned and wrecked vessels that will both prevent new cases and clean up the existing stock of the problematic boats that are littering our coasts and waterways.

[International Trade, October 1st, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to speak today on the recent accomplishments achieved by Canada, the United States and Mexico. Today we reached consensus on a new, modernized trade agreement, the USMCA.

Canada wanted to reach a good agreement, and we were successful.

The USMCA is good for hundreds of thousands of Canadians who work in the auto industry. It is good for Canadian business. It is good for Canadian farmers and for the energy sector.

This agreement will secure economic stability and promote future job growth.

The USMCA will result in freer markets, fairer trade and robust economic growth in our region. It will strengthen the middle class and create good, well-paying jobs and provide stability and confidence for investors.