Thank you, Chair.
Thank you, Your Excellency, for appearing at today's committee. Panama has a very interesting history, something we learn in our own history books here, prior to Jimmy Carter in 1979 and afterwards, so it's of great interest to Canadians.
I do know, through the documents here and your discussion, that we have been talking about a lot of positive issues around Panama and some of the things that have been going on. But I want to bring up one point on which I'd like to hear your response, because it is published through Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada. It's a travel report for Panama. Currently, the travel report says of Panama: “Although the security situation is stable, Canadians should exercise a high degree of caution in Panama due to high crime rates.” This is a travel advisory from the Canadian government, and I would like to hear your response with regard to that.
What they do is to really target certain sections of Panama as being of particular concern if you're going there. One of the things we have to deal with is recognition that if we do have a greater trading relationship, there will be personal visitation and so forth. The current administration report right now advises that travellers exercise a high degree of caution.