Thank you very much, Chair.
I'd like to thank our guests for attending this morning.
This actually has been exceptionally helpful to try to understand better the need to move the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement along on an expeditious basis. I think that's critical. If I've heard anything from your comments and testimony today, it's been the need to proceed--respectfully, but with as much due course as we can--for the advantages that we've discussed.
My colleague from the NDP, whose discourse I quite enjoy from time to time, talked about being against this particular free trade deal. No disrespect to my colleague, but I'm not aware of any free trade deal that he has supported.
I'm trying to look at this from a credible perspective, from your standpoint. As professionals in your area, I think you probably have the best insights of all of us, if I may say, on why this matters for your industries and why it's helpful to Canada.
Mr. Rice, I thought your comments were particularly important.
Just as a brief aside, sir, you made reference to the swine flu and how that has certainly not helped the pork industry at all. I'm so disappointed, because I hear it on the CBC. Even in my own community of London, Ontario--as I love to say, the tenth-largest city in Canada--our local TV and radio talk about the “swine” flu. I have made some strong comments on that.
I would urge all committee members to continue the pressure to get rid of that. It's a huge issue for us.
To me, probably the most compelling you made here was about the Doha Round being weakened, which ultimately will put more emphasis on bilaterals. You have a grave concern about that.
My practical question, and this is for all our guests, is do you agree that there would be an advantage to Canada's pork producers and grain and pulse and lentil producers if we moved this program ahead of the United States? Because that's what I heard you say.
If there's one question that I think becomes the most critical as it relates to the growth of your industry, and frankly, if I might say, the survival of your industry.... If you don't grow in business, there are grave implications. I say that as a business person.
I'd like to ask you this. How critical is it that we move ahead of the United States, which, I would accept from your earlier testimony, is more a question of when and not if?
Perhaps I could ask you to start, Mr. Rice, and then the other two guests.