SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 237

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 23, 2023 11:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 237 - Oct/23/23
Mr. Yves Perron (Berthier—Maskinongé, BQ)
  • Oct/23/23 12:18:40 p.m.
  • Watch
  • Re: Bill C-57 
Mr. Speaker, I thank the minister for her speech and for these negotiations, which are very important. I would like to ask her a two-part question. First, supply management was included when the order to import products from Ukraine duty-free was adopted. The groups that were impacted and the opposition parties fought hard to have this removed when the order was renewed, and it was in fact removed. Can the minister assure me that supply-managed products are not covered by this agreement? That is the first part of my question. Second, I would like to make a comment. The section on investor-state dispute settlement mechanisms puts multinationals and governments on the same footing. This means that, technically, it would be possible for a multinational company to sue a government that is hindering trade. I find that unacceptable. Does the minister not feel that this would have been a good opportunity to make this clarification?
158 words
All Topics
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Context: House Hansard - 237 - Oct/23/23
Ms. Andréanne Larouche (Shefford, BQ)
  • Oct/23/23 1:20:38 p.m.
  • Watch
  • Re: Bill C-57 
Mr. Speaker, we Quebeckers have worked really hard to protect supply management. My colleague from Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot in particular has taken up that fight. The minister seemed to be saying this morning that supply-managed sectors would be excluded and therefore protected. There is definitely a lack of transparency. There are still many aspects of this bill that are worrisome. Can my colleague reiterate the importance of making the risk of prosecution the same for multinationals as for countries? What does he think should be done next to ensure that we get our fair share and that we can monitor the government's lack of transparency?
108 words
All Topics
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Context: House Hansard - 237 - Oct/23/23
Mr. Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay
  • Oct/23/23 1:21:24 p.m.
  • Watch
  • Re: Bill C-57 
Mr. Speaker, we can rest easy about the supply management aspect, because the text excludes those sectors. There is nothing that resembles the order the government made on the sly, somewhat surreptitiously, in 2022. We can rest assured on that front. As for the power of multinationals, we will assess how much flexibility we have because, as I said, there is very little we can change. However, that would be part of it, based on our understanding of the bill at this stage, and we will be able to delve into this further in committee. If it is in the bill, there is nothing to stop us from rejecting this provision during the clause-by-clause study in committee, while supporting the agreement overall. I will vote against this provision, but that does not stop me from reiterating my request to the government for a commitment to remove this provision.
150 words
All Topics
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border