Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, witnesses, for coming out.
This is an interesting panel. I'm not here on a regular basis, and I'm interested in just listening, actually, to the success story that has come about in terms of the development of this free trade agreement with Peru. Not only that, but particularly as we've moved ahead as a government to recognize the need for Canadians and industry, regardless of what it is.... I can look at different agreements, look at what they do for the Canadian economy, and I see that not all agreements are everything for a country. That's why we have all the bilateral agreements that we have found necessary to take.
I'm always here to give credit where credit is due, and I want to congratulate you as a panel for helping develop a successful free trade agreement.
One thing I've found, when I do have the opportunity to hear from other countries, is that the ambassadors from those countries always say that Canada needs to show up. Countries trust Canada. They trust our safety. Whether it's food or equipment, it's quality, and they like to do business. I think now, in terms of our showing up and wanting to sit down and talk about free trade agreements, that is why we've been able to move ahead. I was glad to hear you say that even though we were kind of late getting in, because previously there was no incentive to move ahead on free trade agreements, in this particular agreement, in fact, portions of it have been strengthened beyond those of the United States. I think that is always a credit to those who are doing the negotiations.
I want to step to the agriculture file. Our Minister of Agriculture has been moving to expand our export markets, particularly in the areas of grains and oilseeds and livestock commodities, beef and pork. In terms of the expansion of that section, how was the agriculture file? I don't know how the discussions happen, quite honestly, but in the fulsome discussion around the free trade agreement, when you got to the agriculture file, how did that file affect how you succeeded in other areas, whether mining or banking? How did that all come together in terms of the agriculture file's impact on those?