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Mr. Speaker, Canada has already capitulated repeatedly on NAFTA, and yesterday we learned that the Prime Minister wanted Canadians to give up even more.

Can the Prime Minister explain exactly what concessions he made on Canadian aluminum?

Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear. The new NAFTA, including the amendments we signed yesterday, is a win for aluminum workers.

We are very proud of our record of standing up for aluminum workers, and we will continue to stand up for them.

We are now ensuring that 70% of the aluminum used in North American automotive production will come from North America, and most of that will come from Quebec.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday a senior Democrat said that Canada “conceded to just about every point that we asked for” on the new NAFTA deal, and that is after senior Republicans said last year that the Prime Minister gave very graciously. While Democrats and Republicans do not always agree on everything, they do seem to agree that the Prime Minister has failed Canadians when it comes to the new NAFTA negotiations.

Will the Prime Minister finally admit that what he came back with from Washington was a more weakened NAFTA than he had when he first went down there?

Mr. Speaker, allow me to take this moment to congratulate heartily the entire Canadian team for the great negotiation, and particularly our Deputy Prime Minister, the member for University—Rosedale.

We strengthened environmental protections, we strengthened the support for workers and we moved forward on strengthened intellectual property and automotive rules of origin. We have ensured that access to our most important trading partner is solid for years to come. That is the work the Canadian team did in achieving the new NAFTA.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, we feared the new NAFTA would be a disaster for Quebec's aluminum industry. Today, we know for certain.

Aluminum gets none of the protections that steel does. Worse still, the agreement states that there will be no protections for aluminum for at least 10 years. Let me read out a quote: “Ten years after entry into force of this Agreement, the Parties shall consider appropriate requirements that are in the interests of all three Parties for aluminum to be considered as originating under this Article.”

Did the Prime Minister decide to abandon the workers?

Mr. Speaker, allow me to set the record straight, because the hon. member across the way does not have his facts right.

NAFTA is a win for aluminum workers. From now on, under this agreement, 70% of the aluminum used in North American automotive production will come from North America. As we know, much of that comes from Quebec. This will be good for aluminum workers. We are always happy to stand up for aluminum workers.

Mr. Speaker, one of us does not have his facts right, that is for sure. I am not sure which one.

I read an excerpt from the document the government posted online that states beyond any doubt that, for 10 years, Canada is prohibited from protecting aluminum the way it protects steel.

I think it is pretty clear, and I want to know what the Prime Minister has to say to the workers in Quebec's regions regarding that sacrifice.

Mr. Speaker, the new NAFTA represents a net gain for aluminum workers. We stood up for them not only by getting the punitive section 232 tariffs lifted, but also by defending access to American markets. We made sure that at least 70% of the aluminum used in North American automobile production will come from North America. We know this will benefit Canadian workers.

Mr. Speaker, without actually protecting workers or the environment, the Liberals rushed to see the new NAFTA signed. American politicians did the work the Liberals should have done.

Without seeking protections for the environment and our workers, the Liberals were prepared to sign away our future.

Instead of relying on the Americans to stand up for our workers, will the Prime Minister commit to improving the process moving forward?

Mr. Speaker, we agreed to improvements to the new NAFTA that strengthened environmental protection, strengthened labour protection, improved the automotive rules of origin, improved the protection of intellectual property and settled a stronger state-to-state dispute settlement. These are all improvements we made to the deal. The NDP has already said that the new NAFTA was the best deal possible.

Indeed, the members of the NDP attending the Unifor reception highlighted that this was a much better deal than the deal that was signed 24 years ago. That was from Jerry Dias, the head of Unifor. We know this is a good deal for Canadians.

Mr. Speaker, this is the second time the Liberal government has announced a final agreement on NAFTA. Each time Canada is at the negotiating table we seem to give away more. Maybe we should just accept this before we give away the farm. Wait, the Liberals already did that with dairy.

With the auto industry and manufacturing growing in Mexico, why would the government give away our opportunity to sell more and more aluminum to Mexico in the future?

Mr. Speaker, I understand that this is a recent development, but I recommend that the member opposite take a little closer look at what actually was negotiated, because this is actually a significant—

Some hon. members: Oh, oh!

Mr. Speaker, this new NAFTA accord represents a significant gain for aluminum workers and steel workers across Canada as we move forward with guaranteed percentages of 70% in the North American automobile industry for North American steel and aluminum. This provides predictability and stability for our workers across Canada.

We are going to continue to work hard to defend our workers, as this government has done for the past four years.

Mr. Speaker, the chairman of the U.S. Ways and Means Committee thanked Canada for conceding on all the new NAFTA amendments. This is after the Liberals gave graciously in the original deal. We know the Liberals have conceded on aluminum, impacting thousands of workers in Quebec. The Prime Minister's latest concessions come just weeks before the plant closure at GM Oshawa.

How can the Prime Minister call this a win when workers in Quebec and auto workers in Ontario will lose?

Mr. Speaker, what the member opposite is saying is simply mistaken. This is an improvement for workers across this country, particularly steel and aluminum workers. We worked very hard with all parties, with our Mexican counterparts, with the Democrats and the Republicans, to ensure that this was a win-win-win for all three countries. I can highlight that the improvements we achieved in this most recent and final version of NAFTA are significantly better for Canadians.

We will always stand up for Canadian workers and for our most important trade deals with the Americans.