Fisheries committee  I'm not aware of any country around the negotiating table that does not have sensitivities as well. The challenge of these negotiations is how to deal with the sensitivities that all countries have.

Fisheries committee  Of course, in fact, several departments are involved in the discussions. Clearly, the Department of Agriculture is in charge of all agricultural issues. With regard to trade...

Fisheries committee  In terms of this file, this is, in fact, the case. We must note the fact that the activities of the WTO, as a whole, involve a vast variety of different fields. Therefore, there is always some interest that goes beyond merely private interest.

Fisheries committee  Minister Emerson is in charge of International Trade, which includes Canada's obligations towards the WTO. Obviously, he must have...

Fisheries committee  He works in collaboration with all his cabinet colleagues.

Fisheries committee  Ultimately, Canada will sign the agreement if we find that it is in Canada's interest to do so. The ministers will make this decision in due time.

Fisheries committee  Yes. Agriculture is one of the top ones. Then you have tariff negotiations on industrial goods, or on fisheries products as well, so you have a negotiating group on that. You have a negotiating group on rules; you have a negotiating group on trade and the environment; you have a

Fisheries committee  It's hard for me to speculate on the outcome here. What I would say is that countries are fully engaged in the discussion. A number of issues are at play, and it is difficult to see how one particular topic can be hived off because it may be of interest to a few members but not t

Fisheries committee  You're absolutely correct. The WTO operates not only on a consensus basis but also it is what we call a single undertaking. So all the issues that are in negotiation have to move together to a final decision.

Fisheries committee  Let me give you a general idea of how we work. Of course, we have a manager of negotiations, who is the assistant deputy minister of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. I am his assistant manager of negotiations, beside being in charge of a specific file.

Fisheries committee  Actually, there is no such drop-dead date.

Fisheries committee  That's correct, but of course people will want to achieve a result at some point. It's a question of when there will be consensus to move to that final decision.

Fisheries committee  Well, as a whole, it is Canada that....

Fisheries committee  With the appropriate support of his colleagues in cabinet, of course.

Fisheries committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My name is Gilles Gauthier. I am the Director General of Multilateral Trade Policy at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. I would like to address the overall WTO process and then turn to my colleagues to elaborate on the specific i