Bob McLeod

A large part of the rationale for engaging in all of these different free trade agreements is to reduce our reliance on trade with the United States. We need to broaden our trade with other countries. We are doing so. We are consulting. We did meet with the NWT Association of Communities and presented to them the discussions we were having on CETA. As part of the development of a new economic strategy, we will make sure that we seek all input.

I’d like to answer his question but he keeps changing his question. I think now that he’s asking questions about the European Trade Agreement, we are participating in those negotiations and we are providing our input into those discussions.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise Members that the Honourable Tom Beaulieu will be absent from the House today to attend to a personal matter. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

There are 24 FEPAs, as we call it, that are in place or underway. There are no negotiations with regard to the bilateral agreement between Canada and China. It’s been negotiated, it’s been agreed to so that there is reciprocity between both countries and the investments made by Canadians in China would be protected. It is going forward for approval and we are waiting to see what happens there, because it will provide benefits for investors both into Canada and by Canadians into China.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The question the Member is asking is very timely, considering we have just returned from a recent Council of Federation visit to China and noted the considerable interest in investing in Canada by the Chinese and vice versa. I can assure the Member that the CETA that he is referring to is not a trade agreement, but rather a bilateral agreement with China that will provide for reciprocity and protect investors that invest in China.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise Members that the Honourable Glen Abernethy will be leaving the House later today and will be absent from the House until Friday to attend the federal/provincial/territorial meeting of Justice Ministers in Regina, Saskatchewan. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The detail that has been provided on the omnibus bill, this is the first time we’ve seen it.

When we get the information we can sit down and see how we can approach this. I believe with a majority government at this late stage it would be very difficult to change the course of events because it’s in front of Parliament and they’ll be voting on it.

Every Thursday the government service officers pay home visits to elders, providing assistance by interpreting, opening and explaining mail, and generally ensuring elders and others have better access to our programs and services as well as many services offered by our federal partners. Additionally, community residents can come into the Single Window Service Centre for assistance with filling out forms and applications on-line, through the use of the public computer. This electronic access has shortened response times and expedited the business of government at the community level.

Mr. Speaker...

As I said, we’re analyzing the bill. We’ll have to see what the implications are. The Government of Canada has indicated that a lot of the changes are being done to make for a more efficient and effective regulatory process without sacrificing any of the environmental impacts or providing for additional Aboriginal participation. We will review the omnibus bill and then we will share our findings with committee. We’re very open to discussing an approach on how to deal with it.