Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you very much, Minister. We certainly appreciate your time. We all know that time is very precious, so thank you for that.
Minister, my riding is the riding of Essex. It's down by the busiest international border in all of North America, next to Windsor. I appreciate the fact that the government says it will always stand up for Canadian workers and businesses, but, Minister, there's a major issue here with regard to trade. The trade starts at the border. The trade doesn't necessarily mean the trade of goods going back and forth. The trade is actually the people who go with the goods.
Windsor-Essex is hemorrhaging business to the U.S. and to Mexico, specifically in the manufacturing sector but also in our small business sector. What's happening, Minister, is very simple. Law-abiding, legal visa holders who go back and forth across the border are being told to quarantine for 14 days or face very hefty fines, along with their employees and their customers who come and literally spend two hours on a shop floor right here in my backyard to approve a product. I have met with so many advanced manufacturers. We really need to deem our business owners, our employees and our customers an essential service, just like the Province of Ontario already has.
Have you, Minister, had any discussions with either the Minister of Public Safety Bill Blair or your U.S. counterparts to begin to resolve this problem?