Thank you, Chair, and thank you, guests, for coming here today.
As a farmer and a person who's worked in underdeveloped countries helping farmers in these areas, I see the need for the research we're doing and the products we're developing, especially with all the coming challenges in the world, but I don't like when they start comparing altering food to how we should increase solar panels or efficiencies in cars. There's a big difference between research in food and altering our food compared to other products. In the international scene you often see protocols and conferences put together because we get in trouble in the international scene, whether it's nuclear arms or environment or even finances. As a world, we get so far down and then we have to ratchet back. I get a sense that this biotrain is moving quite fast.
That's good in a lot of ways, but I'd like to talk about international agreements or protocol when we have a framework in place. I think, Lucy, you talked a little about that country-to-country approach, maybe through bilateral agreements or whatever, but overall, if this is going to be such a success for our population and a world success for our Canadian farmers, how do we lead as a country in setting up an international protocol, an international gateway, on how we're dealing with this on the world scene, where you have a green light-red light on how you're doing things? Is that framework there? Should it be there? Should Canada take the lead on it, instead going out on its own and doing all this research and saying it's all great and fine and dandy? The other witnesses could comment on that as well. Where's it all at on the world scene on international protocols and framework? Where's it at, and where should it be going?
Lucy, I'll start with you.