Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act  It would help put jobs in the legal economy and help to displace that vacuum that was drawing young people into the drug trade. The free trade agreement would help reduce displacement by having the presence of Canadian companies in remote areas that were currently lawless and were perhaps without police forces and without judiciary to even follow up on crime.

International Trade committee  Well, gee whiz, in what many people are referring to as the Colombianization of Mexico, rural Mexicans now are finding violence in the drug trade, present like never before, Mr. Chair--

International Trade committee  Julian, that in fact one of the reasons why Mexico's drug wars have escalated is the success of the Uribe government in taking on and reducing the drug trade's control over Colombia, and that these international drug cartels--

International Trade committee  Have you done analysis of what the effect will be on the illegal drug trade in Colombia?

International Trade committee  That's why, for instance, I'm referring to disagreement on other agreements of a nature that could impact the rural economy and lead to hundreds of thousands of peasants losing their livelihood. One of the only options they have is the drug trade. The other option may be joining the new narco-paramilitary groups. The third option is joining the guerrilla movement, and the fourth option is organized crime.

International Trade committee  I don't understand the rather circular argument that more legitimate trade will put more people in the drug trade. That doesn't make a lot of sense somehow.

Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act  The fact that the human rights situation is deteriorating in Colombia is something that should pull Liberals and Conservatives back from the brink. My colleague did not mention the issue of the drug trade and the fact that the drug trade fuelled President Uribe's election, but that is something we will be asking Conservatives about when they stand to speak in the House. The member for Kings—Hants stood up and basically endorsed the government's position without even bothering to actually read the agreement.

Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act  We heard concerns about former paramilitary members in Colombia now reorganizing as criminal gangs involved in the drug trade. We met with a representative from Colombia's national indigenous organization who spoke about the need for greater consultation with indigenous communities over investment and free trade, and the protection of biodiversity.

International Trade committee  I'm not sure how familiar everyone is with Plan Colombia, but we certainly haven't seen a decrease in the drug trade. We haven't seen a decrease in the violence. The numbers that Barbara outlined in her presentation clearly point to a dramatic increase, in a lot of cases, in killings and in violence in communities.

International Trade committee  Yes, but why do you think people get involved in that drug trade?

International Trade committee  I was just curious. You speak about the terrible impact of the narco-traffickers and the drug trade on the people of Colombia. Why do you think people get involved in that? Why do you think that, as young people, they get involved in that activity?

International Trade committee  I'm asking you. You're a smart person. Why do you think people get involved in the drug trade?

International Trade committee  When I met with people in Colombia, former FARC members and demobilized paramilitary people told me the reason they got into the drug trade is that it was the only way they had to make a living. It was the only job they could get.

International Trade committee  What would some other widely accepted reasons be? Do they just wake up and say, “I want to join the drug trade, that looks really cool”? I'm just curious. If you agree that one widely accepted reason is that there's no other opportunity, and if you don't have any other widely accepted reasons, then let that widely accepted reason be accepted here--

International Trade committee  Well, what are the other reasons that people join the drug trade?