Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Mrs. Baron and Mr. Sinclair, welcome.
There seems to be some difficulty. We talk mainly about Canada exporting natural resources while importing mainly manufactured products from Korea. If I understand correctly, we send our natural resources to that country, they use them to make products, and after that we buy them back. Considering that economic reality and this process of resource transformation just when our manufacturing sector is in crisis, whether it be in various manufacturing industries or in the forest industry, I fail to see how this can be an argument in favor of opening our markets.
There is another aspect to this issue, which is related to what we have seen with the US. We have signed free-trade agreements and, in some areas, they are taking us to the cleaners, and that is a huge understatement. I am thinking of the softwood lumber industry and of the mad cow crisis. What happens in the US ends punishing Canada or Quebec. I should add that British Columbia is also paying the price, as well as Ontario and New Brunswick. In those sectors where Quebec and Canada are particularly strong, natural resources, we are being clobbered by the US.
Mr. Sinclair, are there any studies or statistics that would allow us to decide if this agreement is going to lead to job losses? Of course, one can talk about benefits for consumers but one should not forget that we also need our jobs. To be a consumer, one has to have an income and to be able to buy those things. Do you have any data that would throw some light on this issue or am I being too pessimistic? Am I being mistaken in thinking that this is what will happen?