International Trade committee  Elizabeth, go ahead.

International Trade committee  Elizabeth, go ahead, please.

International Trade committee  I certainly think that the first thing to do is, when we're negotiating those agreements, include in them that they are required to abide by the ILO conventions. Then of course there needs to be monitoring. What's in writing is not always what actually happens on the ground, bu

International Trade committee  Absolutely. If we think these things are important and important to Canadian workers, they're important to the workers in the countries that we are contracting with. We want them to be part of the main agreement, so that they're enforceable as well.

International Trade committee  If it's something that we are concerned about, and we think it might be stronger to have a separate chapter on child labour, then it's a good idea to do that. Definitely, whatever protections we can put in place.... We want to have these agreements with Indo-Pacific countries, an

International Trade committee  Elizabeth, do you want to go ahead with that?

International Trade committee  Thank you very much. I'm going to ask our senior researcher, Elizabeth Kwan, to address your question. Thank you.

International Trade committee  Certainly a number of the countries in this region are of concern to us. All kinds of workers' rights are not adhered to. Certainly the conventions of the ILO are not respected as well. I'll turn to Elizabeth, who can probably provide some more details.

International Trade committee  Good afternoon, Madam Chair and committee members. Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. My name is Lily Chang. I am the secretary-treasurer for the Canadian Labour Congress. I am joining you today from the traditional territory of many nations, including the Mississaug