International Trade committee  Mr. Benhmade will be giving the presentation.

International Trade committee  Absolutely not, and the WTO can really intervene on this. Indeed, it can require that the duration of these protections be reduced in exceptional circumstances.

International Trade committee  Currently, the WTO rules are really in favour of extending the protection of brand-name drugs as much as possible, which poses a problem of accessibility to generic drugs. For the countries of the south, we can say that the situation has been really catastrophic. Basic medicatio

International Trade committee  I think one of the big problems with the WTO is this willingness to systematically attack tariff barriers by claiming that they are in place to hide some level of protectionism. In my view, that's the wrong way to approach things. It is clear that we need to make a major energy

International Trade committee  Yes, absolutely. The goals of the Paris Agreement should be a priority—

International Trade committee  All right. So I'm going to stop here. I've said what I had to say.

International Trade committee  In my opinion, it is not the idea of having a dispute resolution body that is the problem. I think it's necessary and important. Trying to strengthen it is also a good thing. However, the questions we are asking about the current role of the WTO in the world are much more fundame

International Trade committee  No, we don't dispute the idea per se at all, but if we're talking about reform, we would like to see the WTO go several steps further. It doesn't go far enough and doesn't seem to be listening to what the social movement has been calling for for many years. So, yes, the WTO need

International Trade committee  The priority would be the environmental issue. We must allow environmental protection to take precedence over free trade. It's a matter of survival for the planet. Then, what is absolutely not talked about at the WTO, but which is fundamental, is the issue of taxation. We talk a

International Trade committee  That's exactly right. We need to adopt measures to redistribute wealth, fight climate change, and ensure equality between north and south. The WTO has greatly favoured the kind of gap that has been created between the countries of the north and the south. Moreover, as early as t

International Trade committee  Good morning. I would first like to thank the Standing Committee on International Trade for this invitation. The Réseau québécois sur l'intégration continentale, or RQIC, is a multi-sectoral organization of Quebec social organizations from the labour, grassroots and internationa

International Trade committee  First of all, it is mainly about the recommendation. On the websites of the major multinational entertainment companies, Canadian and Quebec products are not very visible. We have to put pressure on them to increase the visibility of our products. Second, I think we must continu

International Trade committee  I think chapter 28, as it is worded, literally prevents that precautionary principle. This is a major issue in the negotiations between Canada and the European Union. The Europeans want to keep the precautionary principle. They believe that it is fundamental to protect the health

International Trade committee  Yes, it's entirely possible.

International Trade committee  No, it's not a barrier to trade at all. On the contrary, it puts in place a trade that is much more at the service of the population and that takes into account factors other than immediate profit. Both are important. It provides the public with health and safety. These are fund