Thanks for being here.
Many have a concern about this bill. Certainly, as you're aware, the National Farmers Union is one of them. They've done extensive research and have flagged certain areas. I'd like you to comment on some of their concerns, because obviously, all of us here want to ensure that the interests of farmers prevail when we introduce legislation.
There's a concern not only from them, but from many across the country, that for example, trade deals in this bill may have negative implications on our sovereignty, on our ability to produce food for ourselves; that they could bring in an unprecedented level of corporate control of agriculture; that changes to the Plant Breeders' Rights Act would give vast new rights to multinational agribusiness companies to dominate the private breeding sector; that CETA's intellectual property rights measures would give them access to powerful new tools to enforce these rights.
Apparently, there are some leaked versions of the CETA text that show Canada has agreed to empower the courts to apply provisional and precautionary measures, which include seizure of assets, destruction of equipment, and freezing of bank accounts against someone suspected of intellectual property rights infringement. That's before a trial takes place. Plant breeders' rights are included among the intellectual property rights covered by these measures.
What measures in Bill C-18 were promised to the EU during the secret negotiations that we held with them? Can you reassure Canadian farmers that they shouldn't be concerned about the issues that I just raised?