Again, Mr. McGuinness, I want to highlight the fact that this deal is generally seen in Newfoundland and Labrador as a good deal.
There are also questions, and one of the central questions that's being asked is what exactly Newfoundland and Labrador is giving up by agreeing to the elimination of minimum processing requirements, what impact that will have on the processing sector. As you just note, you have to look at the big picture, not just one piece of the pie, but the whole pie.
There's another concern that is being raised. This concern was raised shortly after last fall when the Conservative government announced the CETA deal. The concern raised was as a result of media reports out of the EU. Basically, the way the EU was selling this package was that as a result of the CETA deal, the lifting of minimum processing requirements, EU countries like Spain and Portugal, for example, would have access to more raw Canadian fish.
Let me read it to you. Under “Fisheries”, the memo states that in addition to the elimination of tariffs, “...the fish package also includes other elements of interest to EU firms, such as better access to Canadian fish for the EU processing industry.”
Again it's a simple question cut right to the chase: will this deal result in EU processing companies getting more access to raw Canadian fish?