Thank you very much, Minister, and thanks to all of you for being here.
I'm going to fire two or three questions at you, Minister, and hope you'll have time to answer them.
First, on the draft regulations and barley, how close will you be monitoring the situation as it plays out with the Wheat Board? We've been on different sides of the fence here. If it doesn't work out according to plan and the Wheat Board, for one reason or another, isn't able to continue marketing barley, and farmers aren't benefiting from the market--maybe not this year but next year--are you going to be monitoring this closely and then maybe reassess the situation?
Second, it came up a couple of times in our tour that some people were concerned about what's happening at the WTO negotiations. On the one hand you mentioned that you would like to sign a deal at all costs, and on the other hand we're protecting supply management. Some people asked whether that kind of takes the rug out from under our feet so we have no bargaining power. How can we reach a compromise, if we're not prepared to give away anything in supply management, and then sign a deal?
The third question is about tobacco farmers. I'm just wondering if there's anything in place to finally give them an exit strategy that will not cost--according to their proposal--the taxpayers any money? Are there any high-level discussions currently planned to get this done once and for all?