International Trade  Mr. Speaker, the government keeps talking about mythical numbers and telling us how great this agreement is that they do not have the courage to show us. Let us address transparency. In the section of the leaked memorandum between the EU Commission and the trade committee that ad

International Trade  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise again to address the ongoing negotiations with the European Union regarding the comprehensive economic and trade agreement known as CETA. This intervention is extremely timely in light of a leaked communiqué out of Europe this week that illustrat

Windermere Secondary School  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the fantastic work of students and faculty at Windermere Secondary School in Vancouver Kingsway, as they launch their fourth annual climate change conference. This event is organized entirely by the grade 11 leadership class at Windermere.

International Trade  Mr. Speaker, a leaked memo reveals what European negotiators really think about the Conservative approach to trade. They say CETA is unbalanced in favour of the EU, that the EU “list of offensive interests...is larger than the Canadian one” and that Canadian services are on the t

International Trade  Mr. Speaker, government ministers are in Brussels for closed door trade talks with the EU, where Conservatives are actually pushing for provisions that would allow foreign corporations to sue Canadian governments. Today, Mobil Oil won a challenge that strikes down Newfoundland an

First Nations Financial Transparency Act  Mr. Speaker, here is what I think the majority of Canadians would rather us be debating in the House today when we are talking about first nations. Instead of worrying about that infinitesimal number of chiefs who are making over $100,000 year, they would rather we were sitting h

First Nations Financial Transparency Act  Mr. Speaker, of course it is not desirable. We have to consider the privacy and policy implications of every decision we make in the House. As a solid opposition that is what we are doing. We are bringing to the Conservatives' attention that by compelling first nations to publish

First Nations Financial Transparency Act  That is not a point of order.

First Nations Financial Transparency Act  Mr. Speaker, the member for Kenora has been wrong twice now. Only he and government members would stand up and say that talking about the conditions of first nations people in this country has nothing to do with a bill that deals with remuneration and disclosure to first nations

First Nations Financial Transparency Act  Mr. Speaker, it is almost trite to say but profoundly important to remember that governing is about priorities and choices. A majority government is in a unique position in this regard. A majority government can control the parliamentary agenda and research whatever issue it wish

International Trade  Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague talked about fiction. Given the numbers about trade under the government's watch since 2006, I think we are talking about a horror story. We have gone from a $26 billion trade surplus when the Conservatives took office in 2006 to a $50 billion trade

International Trade  Mr. Speaker, I stood in the House on June 18, 2012, and posed a question in response to the announcement from the Conservatives that Canada would join the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which followed on an announcement of a new advisory panel on international trade issues. At that t

Canada-Panama Economic Growth and Prosperity Act  Mr. Speaker, it was quite a treat to listen to the combination of myths, fantasy and distortion from my hon. colleague opposite. I would like a factual answer to a serious question. The hon. member sits on the trade committee with me and he heard the evidence we heard, that Pan

Canada-Panama Economic Growth and Prosperity Act  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for his question and for his great service to the committee. My hon. colleague was sitting in committee with me when we were questioning DFAIT officials to get an idea of the economics involved. He, as well as I, heard that to

Canada-Panama Economic Growth and Prosperity Act  Mr. Speaker, I agree in general that trade policy has a number of aims including, hopefully, to boost the standard of living in each country. It is a fair question as to whether or not that actually happens with certain agreements. It depends on the countries involved and it depe