Thank you, Chair.
Thank you all for being here today.
I want to begin with Mr. Russell. The spate of monetary stimulus over the last number of years has been very successful in increasing domestic demand. The problem it has led to is that consumers or households are somewhat over-leveraged, and as a result, domestic demand has decreased. Therefore, is it not prudent that we as a government have pursued a very aggressive trade strategy—Ms. Campbell, you may also want to chime in on this after—which is so important to our economy? The export sector can replace or lend that demand or that strength of the economy back such that the domestic demand has decreased.
Could you comment on how important the foreign trade has been and how important it is that we negotiate deals like CETA?