Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Minister, I know you're here today on the supplementary estimates, and we have focused largely on another issue. I completely understand why that might be; certainly on first glance at this memo I think all of us would have been concerned, but I certainly appreciate the explanation you and the officials have provided in explaining that we're talking about a particular station that was designed particularly to deal with exports to Japan. We completely understand now that very clearly all the processes apply to Canada in the same way as to all our exports. I think we can be confident that everything being done is what should be being done. We appreciate that.
I'd like to move to the topic we are here to discuss today, the supplementary estimates. I have a couple of particular questions.
In the supplementary estimates, I see that just over $27 million is going to be spent on Growing Forward initiatives that support a profitable and innovative agriculture industry.
We hear at this committee time and time again, and I hear from farmers, how important investments in research and innovation and in science are to the agriculture industry. It was fairly recently that you concluded with your provincial counterparts the next agreement—for the next five years, I think it is—on the Growing Forward framework.
Could you touch on some of the highlights of Growing Forward 2, and particularly talk about the greater emphasis that's going to be put on research and innovation? What will it mean for the future of agriculture, and what will it do for farmers here in Canada?