Thomas Hockin (Minister for Science; Minister of State (Small Businesses and Tourism))
Progressive Conservative
Hon. Tom Hockin (Minister for Science and Minister of State (Small Businesses and Tourism)):
Madam
Speaker, that is precisely why we are doing the NAFTA. It is in order to create jobs in Canada and give ourselves export opportunities in Mexico that we do not have today.
They have effective tariff rates of 20 per cent on telecommunications, for example. The other day I saw a figure that 8 per cent of Mexicans have telephones. In five years close to 40 per cent of Mexicans will own telephones. We would like to sell telephones to the Mexicans. We would like to make them in Canada as we do with all the switching apparatus.
What we are doing is removing Mexican quotas and tariffs so we can export into that country. Years ago we gave up our quotas and our tariffs against Mexico. Who would not negotiate a trade agreement with the country when its access to one country is just catching up with access that we have already given to them?
Subtopic: EMPLOYMENT