Thank you very much.
And thanks for being here, gentlemen.
All of a sudden I may have to jump up and leave because I have to talk in the House, actually on this issue, but hopefully I'll have a chance to ask my question.
Maybe I'll ask Mr. Friesen to respond and the rest of you could respond also.
Concerning market access and supply management, the impression I am getting is that we cannot have further access to markets unless we do something to our supply management, and specifically unless we increase our TRQs. That's the assumption I'm hearing.
This was the message we got in a letter from the western agriculture ministers that was sent to our minister. And I'd like a comment on that letter, by the way, if I can.
Right now our TRQs in the poultry industry, in the turkey and chicken industries, are 5%. Is it my understanding that CAFTA or others, or the ministers, would like us to increase that by 5% more so that we can get access for grains and oilseeds? Or should we be going after the European Union, for example, which now has a 0.5% TRQ, and asking them to come up to our level playing field so that TRQs are the same everywhere, before we even think of increasing the TRQs?
My question is this. Does market access then mean being more flexible on our current TRQs, or should we be working with the European Union to get them to bring them up to the standard agreed upon in the Uruguay Round?
And also, we know the United States and the European Union heavily subsidize agriculture, and we're trying to get those tariffs down. By compromising our supply management, does that necessarily mean we will get better access to those markets?
I guess I'll throw in one more question in case I have to go. Could we not generate more market in Canada with the whole biodiesel...and just take some pressure off the export market?
I'll stop there. Hopefully I didn't confuse you too much.