International Trade committee  I believe so. We have our modelling expert in the gallery, and he can verify a few questions.

International Trade committee  Provincial procurement in particular was an overriding priority, and is an overriding priority for the Europeans.

International Trade committee  Would it be easier to call our modelling expert to the table?

International Trade committee  It's very substantial, and we have a very large presence of financial service providers already in the Japanese market. Manulife has a very large business, as do some of the major Canadian banks. We think there are opportunities for growth there. In terms of the professional service categories, architects and engineers and so forth, and in the whole range of energy services, to name just a few, we think there are enormous opportunities in the Japanese market.

International Trade committee  It's a negative list.

International Trade committee  We did assume capital mobility.

International Trade committee  We would be seeking a comprehensive elimination of tariffs and the reduction or elimination of as many non-tariff barriers as possible. This would have impacts across the entire economy. We think the positive impact may be greatest in the areas where the current levels of protection in Japan are highest, and those are agriculture, fish and forestry, and certain industrial areas, but we would expect the benefits to go beyond that.

International Trade committee  That's the current trend, and I think it's entirely possible that a free trade agreement would accelerate that trend.

International Trade committee  I would say that all else equal, the opportunities would be linked to growth levels in the Japanese economy. To be sure, it would be better for Canada for the Japanese economy to grow, and to grow vigorously. But even in the absence of that, it's important that Canadian companies have the best quality of access to that market that we can provide for them.

International Trade committee  If you're talking about services and investment, that's the approach Japan has taken in its negotiations as well. I see no reason why that wouldn't be the methodology we would pursue.

International Trade committee  I'm not sure that I would see a role in terms of direct participation in the negotiations. We would certainly consult the provinces and territories very closely at all stages. There were some unique circumstances in the Canada-EU negotiations stemming from the overriding priority the EU placed on issues that were within provincial jurisdiction.

International Trade committee  No, we do not. Investment is another area where we would hope to have a significant benefit from having a comprehensive FTA.

International Trade committee  Investment is a real success story in both directions. Both Canada and Japan are extremely active in each other's market, and there are household names in terms of the major Japanese companies that are operating in Canada already: Honda, Toyota, Bridgestone, Canon, Fujitsu, and on and on.

International Trade committee  As part of the joint study process, our chief economists on both sides did a comprehensive modelling of the impact of a free trade agreement. This was the source of the number that there would be a GDP benefit of $3.8 billion on the Canadian side and $4.4 billion on the Japanese side, and an expansion of exports of some 67%.

International Trade committee  And even in the automobile industry. What I'm telling you is that we've had some concerns expressed by stakeholders, but there will be positive opportunities as well, because the nature of the concerns that have been expressed to us has often been framed in terms of the challenge of penetrating the Japanese market.