Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to each of our witnesses today.
This has been compelling testimony about the importance of this opportunity, the Canada-EU FTA. It's an unusual FTA from a number of perspectives, because it covers more than some FTAs have in the past. I understand, for instance, that some of the discussions are around regulatory reform. This is something new to these discussions that has not been part of previous discussions. Given that non-tariff trade barriers, which are often regulatory in nature, represent barriers to trade and commerce that are sometimes as serious as tariff barriers, I would really appreciate a little insight into that component of the discussions.
And I understand the discussions even involve professional accreditation issues. We have challenges in Canada on some of these issues, but I'd be interested to hear some insight from you on the regulatory component and the professional accreditation component, because those areas I think are extremely important areas for discussion.
So my questions are both about what the scope of those discussions is and what chance you believe exists for us to successfully conclude agreements in those areas.