Speech (House debate)

{
    "time": "2014-03-06 16:35:00",
    "attribution": {
        "en": "Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Winnipeg North, Lib.)",
        "fr": "M. Kevin Lamoureux (Winnipeg-Nord, Lib.)"
    },
    "content": {
        "en": "<p data-HoCid=\"3605317\" data-originallang=\"en\">Mr. Speaker, it is with pleasure that I rise today to speak to Bill <a data-HoCid=\"6376567\" href=\"/bills/41-2/C-20/\" title=\"An Act to implement the Free Trade Agreement between Canada and the Republic of Honduras, the Agreement on Environmental Cooperation between Canada and the Republic of Honduras and the Agreement on Labour Cooperation between Canada and the Republic of Honduras\">C-20</a>. Maybe I should start by commenting on the remarks of my colleague from the New Democratic Party, who confirms why the NDP members often scare business. It is a scary proposition if we stop to think about their attitudes toward trade. They can put up walls and prevent merchandise from coming into the country, but I give this advice to my New Democratic colleagues: they might want to open their minds to the facts of how important trade is to Canada.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"3605318\" data-originallang=\"en\">It is estimated that up to 80% of economic activity or jobs in Canada are attributable to trade. Canada is a trading nation. In response the NDP members say, well, we are talking about trade between Canada and Honduras. I listened to their comments on Bill <a data-HoCid=\"6376567\" href=\"/bills/41-2/C-20/\" title=\"An Act to implement the Free Trade Agreement between Canada and the Republic of Honduras, the Agreement on Environmental Cooperation between Canada and the Republic of Honduras and the Agreement on Labour Cooperation between Canada and the Republic of Honduras\">C-20</a>. They say that Honduras is a bad country, a very bad country. I get that message. That is what they are saying. Do they know that there is currently over a quarter of a billion dollars of trade between our two countries? Are they suggesting that we should abandon that trade also? Are they suggesting that Canada should not trade with nations like Honduras, period?</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"3605319\" data-originallang=\"en\">We should be concerned about that. I can appreciate that in the history of our nation, the NDP has never voted in favour of a trade agreement. It has never done that. It does not seem to recognize that there is some value to trade. In representing their constituents, New Democrats need to realize that many of them have their jobs because of world trade. We should not fear trade, but recognize that there are opportunities for Canada to benefit from it.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"3605320\" data-originallang=\"en\">Those are the questions I have posed to the government and New Democrats. Let us recognize the value of trade if we manage that file right.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"3605321\" data-originallang=\"en\">I will get to the Honduras trade agreement specifically, but when we look at the overall trade balance, we see that when the Conservatives inherited government, there was a multi-billion trade surplus. Today we have a multi-billion trade deficit. What does that mean? Other than stating the fact that Conservatives have done a poor job on the trade file overall, it means that Canada has been deprived of tens of thousands of good, solid jobs. Do not underestimate the impact this has had on the middle class in Canada, because the government of the day has not done its homework.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"3605322\" data-originallang=\"en\">In part we have to bring this right to the Office of the <a data-HoCid=\"78738\" href=\"/politicians/stephen-harper/\" title=\"Stephen Harper\">Prime Minister</a>. One of the speakers talked about the government reaching 37 trade agreements. What he did not highlight is that the process for a number of those agreements began during a Liberal administration. It was Liberals that started them. What they failed to realize is yes, there is a difference in attitude in regard to\u2014</p>",
        "fr": "<p data-HoCid=\"3605317\" data-originallang=\"en\">Monsieur le Pr\u00e9sident, je suis heureux de prendre la parole aujourd'hui au sujet du projet de loi <a data-HoCid=\"6376567\" href=\"/bills/41-2/C-20/\" title=\"An Act to implement the Free Trade Agreement between Canada and the Republic of Honduras, the Agreement on Environmental Cooperation between Canada and the Republic of Honduras and the Agreement on Labour Cooperation between Canada and the Republic of Honduras\">C-20</a>. Je vais commencer par revenir sur les observations de mon coll\u00e8gue du NPD, lesquelles expliquent pourquoi les d\u00e9put\u00e9s n\u00e9o-d\u00e9mocrates nuisent souvent aux affaires. Il s'agit d'une position inqui\u00e9tante, \u00e9tant donn\u00e9 leur attitude \u00e0 l'\u00e9gard du commerce. Certes, ils peuvent \u00e9riger des barri\u00e8res et emp\u00eacher les biens d'entrer au pays, mais je leur conseille plut\u00f4t de s'ouvrir les yeux sur l'importance du commerce pour le Canada.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"3605318\" data-originallang=\"en\">On estime qu'au Canada, jusqu'\u00e0 80 % de l'activit\u00e9 \u00e9conomique ou des emplois sont attribuables au commerce. Le Canada est un pays commer\u00e7ant. Les d\u00e9put\u00e9s n\u00e9o-d\u00e9mocrates r\u00e9pondent que, dans ce cas-ci, il s'agit d'\u00e9changes avec le Honduras. J'ai \u00e9cout\u00e9 leurs interventions au sujet du projet de loi <a data-HoCid=\"6376567\" href=\"/bills/41-2/C-20/\" title=\"An Act to implement the Free Trade Agreement between Canada and the Republic of Honduras, the Agreement on Environmental Cooperation between Canada and the Republic of Honduras and the Agreement on Labour Cooperation between Canada and the Republic of Honduras\">C-20</a>. Ils affirment que le Honduras est un mauvais pays, un pays terrible. C'est ce que je comprends. C'est ce qu'ils affirment. Sont-ils au courant que les \u00e9changes commerciaux entre nos deux pays se chiffrent actuellement \u00e0 plus d'un quart de milliard de dollars? Proposent-ils que nous renoncions aussi \u00e0 ces \u00e9changes? Essaient-ils de nous convaincre que le Canada ne devrait pas entretenir de rapports commerciaux avec des pays comme le Honduras, point \u00e0 la ligne?</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"3605319\" data-originallang=\"en\">Cela devrait nous pr\u00e9occuper. Je peux dire que, dans l'histoire du pays, le NPD n'a jamais vot\u00e9 en faveur d'un accord commercial; jamais. Il ne semble pas reconna\u00eetre la valeur du commerce. Les n\u00e9o-d\u00e9mocrates doivent se rendre compte que bon nombre de leurs \u00e9lecteurs occupent un emploi li\u00e9 au commerce mondial. Au lieu de craindre le commerce, nous devrions reconna\u00eetre les b\u00e9n\u00e9fices qu'il peut apporter au Canada.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"3605320\" data-originallang=\"en\">Voil\u00e0 la nature des questions que j'ai pos\u00e9es au gouvernement et aux n\u00e9o-d\u00e9mocrates. Pour mener \u00e0 bien ce dossier, nous devons reconna\u00eetre la valeur du commerce.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"3605321\" data-originallang=\"en\">Je parlerai plus pr\u00e9cis\u00e9ment de l'accord commercial avec le Honduras. Cependant, lorsqu'on examine la balance commerciale g\u00e9n\u00e9rale, on se rend compte que, lorsque les conservateurs sont arriv\u00e9s au pouvoir, il y avait un exc\u00e9dent commercial de plusieurs milliards de dollars. Aujourd'hui, nous accusons un d\u00e9ficit commercial de plusieurs milliards de dollars. Qu'est-ce que cela signifie? Mis \u00e0 part le fait que les conservateurs ont mal g\u00e9r\u00e9 le dossier commercial, cela signifie que le Canada a perdu des dizaines de milliers de bons emplois. Ne sous-estimons pas les cons\u00e9quences qu'ont subies les Canadiens de la classe moyenne \u00e0 cause de la mauvaise gestion du gouvernement.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"3605322\" data-originallang=\"en\">Le Cabinet du <a data-HoCid=\"78738\" href=\"/politicians/stephen-harper/\" title=\"Stephen Harper\">premier ministre</a> doit \u00eatre en partie tenu responsable. Un intervenant a parl\u00e9 des 37 accords commerciaux conclus par le gouvernement. Il a cependant omis de souligner que les proc\u00e9dures entourant un certain nombre de ces accords ont \u00e9t\u00e9 lanc\u00e9es sous un gouvernement lib\u00e9ral. Ce sont les lib\u00e9raux qui les ont enclench\u00e9es. Ils n'ont pas tenu compte du fait que, bien qu'il y ait une attitude diff\u00e9rente \u00e0 l'\u00e9gard...</p>"
    },
    "url": "/debates/2014/3/6/kevin-lamoureux-9/",
    "politician_url": "/politicians/kevin-lamoureux/",
    "politician_membership_url": "/politicians/memberships/4032/",
    "procedural": false,
    "source_id": "8267787",
    "h1": {
        "en": "Government Orders",
        "fr": "Initiatives Minist\u00e9rielles"
    },
    "h2": {
        "en": "Canada-Honduras Economic Growth and Prosperity Act",
        "fr": "Loi sur la croissance \u00e9conomique et la prosp\u00e9rit\u00e9 -- Canada-Honduras"
    },
    "document_url": "/debates/2014/3/6/",
    "related": {
        "document_speeches_url": "/speeches/?document=%2Fdebates%2F2014%2F3%2F6%2F"
    }
}