Health committee  I think I'll ask my colleague, Dr. Chan, to respond to your question.

Health committee  Our discussions are part of a broader international regulatory cooperation with major OECD countries.

Health committee  As I indicated before, there's no decision to raise pesticide residue limits. There is discussion about the current implications of different residue limits around the world and what the implications would be if there were changes to those limits.

Health committee  It depends in which context. In the context of our proposal to revoke the 0.1 ppm general maximum residue limit, we obviously had discussions within our department and with CFIA to make a number of departments aware of what we were proposing before going out for fuller consultation with the Canadian public.

Health committee  We consult the Canadian public by using as many means as we can. We publish these proposals. Certainly regulatory proposals have to go through the normal Canadian gazetting process to reach as many people as possible. We also have our own website, where we make it clear what these proposals are.

Health committee  Yes, it is.

Health committee  Certainly all the information we have published on our proposal to revoke the 0.1 ppm general MRL is available on our website and in other ways. We'll certainly be happy to provide that information.

Health committee  When we put these proposals forward we summarize all the responses we get, where they came from, and the nature of them. We publish that so people can see the nature of the responses.

Health committee  Thank you. On your first point, with respect to what we've been saying about discussions within NAFTA, what we were saying is very consistent with what the minister has said. These things are under discussion. There have been no decisions reached yet, and there is in fact an international discussion, not just a discussion with the Americans.

Health committee  First of all, these discussions are still in pretty early stages. We started them a while ago, but there's still a lot of information we need in terms of the extent of those trade issues caused by differences in residue limits. At the end of the day, the health of Canadians is what is paramount to us, and we won't be changing our human health standards to accommodate changes in maximum residue limits of other countries.

Health committee  This specific proposal has been, and is being, consulted on broadly within Canada. We have shared that proposal with our colleagues in the United States. We've also shared it with our colleagues around the world, in OECD countries in particular.

Health committee  Yes, we meet frequently.

Health committee  This is an initiative that Canada embarked on by itself after a lot of consultation with stakeholders; this was something we really needed to do.

Health committee  Correct.

Health committee  It's impossible to say what the final limits will be. They'll be case by case, based on a risk assessment specific to that pesticide and that crop.