Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you for appearing here today. I'll be splitting my time with Ms. Brown, and if there are a few minutes left, with Mr. Lunney.
I'll make a statement here and ask a question, and maybe you can answer after we've finished our rounds here, to try to get a little more in.
You mentioned trade to the United States and perhaps lessening our involvement with Mexico. But given the recession and the security, the thickened border between Canada and the United States, and the past convenience of shipping rail straight through into Mexico, we no longer have all of that convenience. It's getting more and more difficult. When we were shipping to the Caribbean through the States and from Florida, we had it.
So wouldn't we rather be increasing our opportunities by doing more from our Atlantic and Pacific ports down the seaboard of the United States for easier access? Then we would be staged to go to the Caribbean--to Jamaica, Trinidad, Tobago, and other areas. Also, by going down to San Diego in the United States, you'd be staged to do direct shipment to Mexico. Wouldn't that be an opportunity?
If that is a multi-level approach to trade and expanding our presence with the United States and through it, is it complicated by NAFTA or any of our other agreements?
I'll pass this over to Lois.