Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I want to start, if I could, by pointing out to the vast numbers of Canadians who will be listening to this on the Internet that what we're seeing today is an example of the way Parliament can work and parliamentarians can work together.
We have an issue here that has been around for some time. An NDP member of Parliament who's concerned about the issue brings forward a private member's bill, and we see a large number of MPs from all parties who, while they may not necessarily support the specifics of the legislation, support the spirit of the legislation and the idea and want to hear more, so we bring it to a committee.
We had the opportunity over the summer to benefit, of course, from discussion. We saw the minister initiate this discussion through the letter sent in the spring, a letter that was asking for an industry-led voluntary solution, but then we saw a summer of a lot of conversations going back and forth, members of all parties having conversations with each of you to get our heads around the issue. We saw three organizations, at times, and sometimes four organizations, working hard to come up with this solution.
Let's make no mistake about it. It was hard work, and we know there was some tension and some negotiation involved to get all four groups sitting at the table today in agreement with this voluntary solution. Here we have a result, it seems to me, that is better than the proposed legislation—and I don't mean that in any disrespect to the member who moved the legislation. I think it is a good thing that we've had this discussion.
I want to commend all of your organizations for working so hard to get to this point. Of course, I'll take the time to commend my minister, Minister Clement, for the work that he did, and I'll commend Brian for the work that he has done on this issue.
It's very difficult, when you invest so much into a private member's bill, to at some point withdraw that bill, as Brian has indicated he's going to do. So I commend Brian for that as well.
I have a couple of questions, if I could, starting with Dale Finch and Marc Brazeau.
One of the groups that this voluntary agreement really is all about is not represented here at the table—that is, consumers.
Could the two of you speak to the benefits of this voluntary solution? How will this solution benefit consumers out there?