As he announced that Colombia has lifted its ban on Canadian beef imports, trade minister Stockwell Day took a shot at opposition MPs for blocking a Colombia free trade deal.
“I wish the opposition parties would stop their grandstanding and help us move along the Colombia free trade agreement,” he told the House of Commons Sept. 16.
Last week, Conservative MPs complained that one of the sectors most hurt by the delay in implementing the FTA is agriculture.
Ontario MP Larry Miller, chair of the Commons agriculture committee, said Sept. 15 the deal would eliminate 86 percent of the tariffs on agricultural imports from Canada.
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“Being a farmer myself and representing a very rural riding that is a very large producer of agricultural products of all kinds, this is great news, particularly for my pork and beef producers,” he said.
“That translates into about $25 million in annual duty savings for our producers here in Canada. That is a lot of coin.”
The Commons spent two days last week talking about legislation to implement the deal. There was little indication opposition critics were prepared to let it come to a vote.
The government dropped it from the debate agenda. It was first debated in May.
Critics say that Canada should not be signing deals with Colombia when it has a poor human rights record and when union and social activist leaders often are targeted and murdered.
Government MPs argue that the Colombian government is trying to combat crime and the free trade deal includes a side agreement on strengthening labour rights.
Improving the stability of Colombia includes increasing prosperity that comes from trade.
Hurting farmers
In 2008, two-way trade was worth $1.35 billion and Canadian exports increased 28 percent to $704 million. Rural Conservative MPs increasingly connected the Commons stalemate to lost opportunities for farmers.
Alberta MP Leon Benoit said farmers in his Vegreville-Wainwright riding and across the Prairies need access to more markets.
“Particularly in a year like this where a drought has had such a negative impact, it is critical that they get every penny out of every bushel or tonne of the commodities they grow,” he told the Commons.
“For cattlemen, this agreement could have a very important positive impact and it is the same in many sectors.”
Miller said agricultural interests were at the heart of the Canada-Colombia negotiation.
“Agriculture was a key driver for these free trade agreement negotiations,” he said. “From the very start, we were guided by the principle that a successful outcome on agriculture was absolutely critical.”
There is no indication when the government will devote more Commons time to the debate on Bill C-23.
