Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I guess I will open by citing a statement by Pascal Lamy the other day that Canada has lost its ability to bridge. I find that very troubling. Canada used to play a very active role in WTO negotiations, and prior to them as well. I'm concerned about this. As I've stated in the last committee meetings here, the WTO has a voluntary membership, with 149 members—and getting larger. This is why we are studying this process, because if it fails—if all of a sudden we're down to 148, 147, and these numbers start dropping off—we lose the benefits of protecting any sector in this country, more so than even agriculture. So I'm very concerned about our future.
So the question I'm going to throw out.... It's very important because it impacts agriculture. But not only that, I've talked to the CCC, the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters, who are all very concerned about this potential failure. And it's all pivoting on agriculture, so it's so important that we get a deal. If Canada isolates itself from this modality phase, how do we reinsert ourselves into the next process, or are we totally isolated and have we lost that opportunity? We've lost the opportunity to gain market access. We've lost the opportunity in this multilateral agreement to defend any industry in this country.
I'd like some comments on that, please.