Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I extend my warmest congratulations to Senator Buttimer who is a lovely person and wish him every happiness on this great occasion.

Today, the Prime Minister of Canada, Mr. Justin Trudeau, met the Taoiseach. While much attention has been paid to what the two men were wearing on their feet, what is more important are the steps they are taking to face the challenges facing our shared world. There is much that the Taoiseach and the Canadian Prime Minister can learn from each other. I hope Mr. Trudeau will convey to the Taoiseach that gender equality is not optional or an add-on but a foundation for a modern society and something on which we must build. I also hope the progressive legislation the Government has passed on hydraulic fracturing will be discussed and considered at the meeting because, unfortunately, the position taken by Prime Minister Trudeau in respect of the tar sands is one that is incompatible with a global effort to avert catastrophic climate change.

To be consistent, I must also refer to the trade and the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, or CETA, between Canada and the European Union, which also needs to be discussed. Yesterday, representatives of farmers' groups, small business organisations, environmental groups and trade unions, which do not often sit together at a table, agreed that they are concerned about this trade agreement. Their position is not that they oppose trade and they certainly do not oppose trade with Canada, with which Ireland has a very healthy trading relationship. In 2014, we exported services valued at €1.1 billion to Canada and in 2015, the balance of trade between the two countries was almost two to one in favour of Ireland. While trade is healthy and good, the concern is with the model of trade provided for in the agreement. CETA is a legacy of overreach by the European Commission. It contains investor court systems which are dangerous and unacceptable and a negative listing system which places everything on the table. We should decide what we put on the table. Ireland has some of the lowest levels of exclusions, in other words, matters we have taken off the table, of any country in Europe. I appeal to Senators, Deputies and the Taoiseach to consider that the European Commission told us CETA did not need to be ratified by national parliaments.