International Trade  Mr. Speaker, the minister should apologize for a $62-billion current account deficit in this country. According to the Bank of Canada, poor export performance is a major driver of our slow economic growth, and this means Conservative policies are costing us good, middle-class jobs.

Fair Elections Act  Mr. Speaker, I am privileged to represent the great riding of Vancouver Kingsway where, after constituents witnessed their elected member cross the floor to sit on the other side within two weeks of being elected in 2006, there was an explosion of anger in my riding and a real commitment to the democratic process.

Combating Counterfeit Products Act  Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the member for the wonderful job she has been doing representing the justice file in this country and for helping to build a progressive, responsible justice policy for us. I was going to joke and say that every time I rise in the House, I learn something new too, often by accident.

Combating Counterfeit Products Act  Mr. Speaker, hope springs eternal. We on this side of the House believe in a well-financed government. We think Canadians see an important role for government to play, particularly when it comes to enforcing basic rights and freedoms in our country. The ability of businesses in this country to make money and to protect their intellectual property rights, and the wishes of Canadians as consumers to protect their rights and their health and safety are things that require us as politicians to make the investments.

Combating Counterfeit Products Act  Mr. Speaker, I want to take this chance to tell the hon. member that it is a pleasure to work with him at committee. What is really important in this case is to make sure that we start collecting meaningful data not only to make sure that we understand the scope of the problem but to track our progress.

Combating Counterfeit Products Act  Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to stand today and speak to Bill C-8, An Act to amend the Copyright Act and the Trade-marks Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts. It is also a particular pleasure to stand in the House when parties are in general agreement about a piece of legislation.

Canada-Honduras Economic Growth and Prosperity Act  Mr. Speaker, first I would like to welcome the hon. member to the chamber and congratulate her on being appointed her party's international trade critic. Again, the issue here is not that Honduras is a small country and that it is poor; the issue is that Honduras is an undemocratic country with one of the worst human rights records in the world.

Canada-Honduras Economic Growth and Prosperity Act  Mr. Speaker, let us put this in context. Honduras is a country of about eight million and Canada of 35 million, so Canada is about four times the size. Imagine if the current Canadian government removed four members of the Supreme Court of Canada because it did not like the decision they made.

Canada-Honduras Economic Growth and Prosperity Act  Mr. Speaker, I raised the issues of countries like Iran, North Korea and Ukraine to illustrate examples of countries to which we would not consider extending preferential terms. Each country is unique; sometimes they are unique in degrees. However, when there is a country like Honduras, which the United Nations has stated engages in widespread human rights violations, including killings, disappearances, forced evictions and sexual violence, I fail to see how that is less upsetting to the hon. member than what is happening in Iran.

Canada-Honduras Economic Growth and Prosperity Act  Mr. Speaker, of course the issue before this House is Bill C-20, which is a trade agreement that purports to extend special trade preferences to a particular country. Trade occurs every day in this world, and the hon. member is quite correct about that; but when we sign a trade agreement, we are singling out a specific jurisdiction for special treatment.

Canada-Honduras Economic Growth and Prosperity Act  Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. friend for that question, but again, decision-based fact-making seems to typify his government. The auto pact was actually opposed by the Conservatives, and the New Democrats pointed out problems, but it passed in this very chamber on division. In fact, there was no one who opposed the auto pact.

Canada-Honduras Economic Growth and Prosperity Act  Mr. Speaker, New Democrats believe that Canadians recognize the importance of trade to our economy and want an effective, strategic trade policy that expands trade opportunities and supports Canadian exporters. We believe that Canadians want a trade policy that produces good jobs in our communities and encourages the development of value-added production to our many resources here in Canada.

Canada-Honduras Economic Growth and Prosperity Act  Mr. Speaker, extending preferential trade terms to other countries is a major economic privilege, and countries that are democratic and that respect environmental, human rights, and labour standards are deserving of this extension. The government of Honduras was essentially installed in a military coup in 2009.

Canada's Filipino Community  Mr. Speaker, the recent disaster in the Philippines has left enormous destruction in its wake. In the face of this tragic event, I rise today to honour the Filipino Canadian community across our nation. This calamity has highlighted the uncommon strength, dignity and grace of the Filipino people around the world.

Economic Action Plan 2013 Act No. 2  Mr. Speaker, the only myth in Canadian politics is that the Conservatives are good money managers. The two largest deficits in Canadian history were under the Conservatives: Michael Wilson in the eighties and now the current finance minister just a few years ago. The debt of our country has gone up 25% to over $600 billion under the government.