Thank you, Mr. Chair.
We appreciate it very much that you have all come before us. I particularly appreciate Mr. Hansen's presence, because he represents the area that my family originally came from when they came to Canada.
I'm tempted to start by rebutting Mr. Menzies. However, he has complimented you on how you've developed your trade agenda. You have very strong protection for your agricultural sectors and have incorporated social, environmental, and labour standards into your trade, your trade processes and your trade direction. You also have strong consumer protection. If Mr. Menzies admires your approach, maybe he's becoming a social democrat. Who knows?
I would like to start off my questions by asking about your consultation. In each of your countries, in Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein, how do you keep your legislators in the loop as these negotiations are going on? How do you keep sensitive industries in the loop? How do you keep the public in the loop? As Mr. Bains and Mr. Cardin mentioned, there are some real concerns around these negotiations with regard to the shipbuilding industry and industrial marine products.
We are not being consulted on the issue of the development of this trade agreement. I would be interested in knowing how, in each of your four countries, you keep legislators, sensitive industries, and the public in the loop on these negotiations.