Thanks very much, Mr. Chair. I certainly appreciate having an opportunity to ask a few questions.
I'm going to start with some general questions, and then I'm going to talk to you about fish, because I have a zoology degree in fisheries and aquatic sciences, Dr. Dixon, and I'm going to ask you some fairly direct questions about fish, if I have time.
The first question in the line of questioning I want to follow, though, is dealing with the scientific independence. You have been quite clear, Dr. Dixon, that you are obviously balancing the various sources of funding that come to you and you're maintaining scientific independence. I'm going to ask you directly if the oil sands companies or anybody like that ever tried to influence the direction of your research as part of their funding arrangements.