International Trade  Mr. Speaker, the results speak for themselves, and they reveal an abysmal Conservative record on trade, a growing clean-tech sector that is being muscled out of the global market—

International Trade  They laugh, Mr. Speaker. Trade talks with Japan are completely stalled and the Conservatives are unable to even set a date for negotiations. Canada has fallen from 15th to 23rd in exports to key Asian markets and has record trade deficits in 2015. The New Democrats understand that strong trade performance is critical to Canada's economic future.

International Trade  Mr. Speaker, the NDP policy on trade is to have a transparent policy that brings good Canadian jobs to this country and helps Canadian businesses on the world stage. While the Conservatives keep up their public bluster on trade, internal government communications tell a different story.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, it is said that pride goeth before a fall. I wonder, with governments near the 9-10 year mark, whether or not they just become blind to the realities and are unable to hear what is actually being said. In this debate today, we have, I think, a very well-inspired motion which talks about the reality, that scientists who work for the federal government in this country have almost uniformly complained they feel muzzled by the current government's policy.

International Trade  Mr. Speaker, the minister should talk to Hungary and Greece, which both just said that they would not ratify the deal. The minister's rhetoric does not match the facts. According to the World Economic Forum 2014 rankings of 138 countries, Canada is 48th in predictability of import procedures, 95th in cost of imports and 97th in tariff complexity.

Housing  Mr. Speaker, the former B.C. RCMP headquarters in the heart of Vancouver is being redeveloped by the federal government. Young families, seniors, low-income earners, folks with disabilities, and many others, are struggling to find affordable homes in the world's second most expensive city.

Neighbourhood House Week  Mr. Speaker, three municipalities in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia have proclaimed May 3 to 9, Neighbourhood House Week. It gives me great pleasure to draw to the attention of the House to the multi-faceted contributions of these outstanding organizations to our communities and our country.

Port State Measures Agreement Implementation Act  Mr. Speaker, the member is correct in the sense that we can pass all the laws we want in the House, and we can put words on paper, but it really comes down to providing the actual resources on the ground to the civil service and the regulatory bodies that are charged with actually making the goals of these pieces of legislation a reality.

Port State Measures Agreement Implementation Act  Mr. Speaker, that is an excellent question. I would congratulate the government on its made-in-Canada procurement solution to our navy needs. I am very happy to see that the government has done that. The NDP has been calling for that for decades to make sure that we stimulate the Canadian shipbuilding industry.

Port State Measures Agreement Implementation Act  Mr. Speaker, it is privilege to stand on behalf of the official opposition New Democratic Party of Canada and speak to this important Bill S-3, an act to amend the Coastal Fisheries Protection Act, Port State Measures Agreement Implementation Act. Behind that rather anodyne title I think reside some very important principles.

International Trade  Mr. Speaker, despite Conservative spin, the numbers do not lie. Canada just posted a $3 billion record trade deficit in March, and this followed a $2 billion deficit in February. Now we see the Conservatives starting to cave in at the TPP table. After being asked to affirm his support for Canada's supply manage sectors, the Prime Minister ducked, dodged and dissembled.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I have a petition signed by dozens of Vancouver residents, many in Vancouver Kingsway, who are concerned about the shipment of illegal whale meat through Canadian ports. It has been discovered this happened last year. Since 1972, Canada has banned commercial whaling in Canadian waters and Canada is signatory to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species which has listed the fin whale and other endangered whales under the category requiring the highest level of protection against commercial trade.

Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, the people of Vancouver Kingsway have been very clear for a number of years about the kinds of issues they believe are important and which they really would like the federal government to address. There is a crushing, critical shortage of affordable housing in Vancouver.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition from hundreds more petitioners to add to the thousands of Canadians across Canada who are calling upon the government to preserve Canada Post's home delivery program and to stop the plan for reduced services, including the elimination of home delivery for five million households, as well as a dramatic increase in postal rates.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, the second petition I have is from people who are concerned about the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in the People's Republic of China. They call upon the government to uphold the principles of human rights and the ability of people to freely practise their spiritual and religious faith wherever they may be.