Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Minister, I'd like to talk about the steps the Canadian industry must take in order for this agreement to come into force.
Article II states that before this agreement can enter into force, Canada must submit a letter to the Americans that, among other things, must confirm that “importers of record that collectively account for not less than 95% of total refunds of cash deposits with accrued interest have complied with all of the requirements in paragraph 1 of Annex 2A”. If companies accounting for 95% of the outstanding duties paid to the U.S. don't take these steps, as I read it--and it's clear--the agreement cannot come into force. Effectively, the industry then has a veto.
I was advised that on July 13 you made a statement in discussions with the press: “The 95% does not represent a hard and fast deal. We do not intend to hand out a veto of that kind. This agreement will have to be decided on by Parliament.”
To me it's rather obvious that these positions are contradictory. I appreciate your expertise in the field and your understanding of the agreement, but I can only draw two conclusions: either your statement was inaccurate--perhaps it was a misleading statement--or you believe that the final text in fact can be amended.