Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to all the witnesses for being here.
I guess I'd like to begin with Mr. Benson. I'm wondering if there might be any common ground here.
As you know, there are seven, I believe, major federally regulated companies seeking to spread their payments over ten years rather than five years to restore their pension assets. I don't think the unions or the pensioners are necessarily happy with that under status quo rules. But you seem to imply, and this is what I'm trying to get at, that such a ten-year period might be acceptable to you under certain conditions--for instance, if there were greater restrictions on the nature of the investments that pension funds could do.
Can you briefly tell us whether there would be some regulatory changes or quid pro quo under which you would find a ten-year period acceptable?