First, I would like to thank the USDA officials. About ten days ago, I was at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency with our own officials, and we had excellent co-operation from the American officials on the golden nematode issue. Our two countries are making good progress. I think it is important for the future of both our countries to have sound agreements and to find ways to sort out our problems.
There is a lot of talk about intervention protocols. I think it is quite beneficial for Canadians and Americans to find joint solutions to the problems that can and will certainly arise.
In a context of globalization, many parasites can spread to the North American continent, either in the United States or in Canada. In the future, we will most probably have to regionalize the issues, just like we did with the nematode issue. It is important for both our markets in Canada and the United States. Whether we like it or not, we share this continent, and the market is becoming more and more globalized.
Do you think that in the next five to ten years we could agree on memoranda of understanding on a wide range of potential problems, or should we do it just on a case by case basis? What is the position of the American government on this?