I come from the Pacific coast of Canada, so my commute to come here is the furthest of all the members of the committee—about 5,000 kilometres.
In my community there is a small but important Macedonian community. We thank you for the links we have between Macedonia and Canada. The name of my community is Burnaby—New Westminster. Burnaby has about 100 different languages spoken within it. One is Macedonian.
I represent the New Democratic Party. We are a social democratic party, and in Europe we would be part of the caucus of the Party of European Socialists. We have 36 seats currently in the House of Commons.
I'm very happy to welcome you here with my colleagues.
I have two questions for you. The first is around your export diversification strategy. Your export is concentrated with four commercial partners: Germany, Greece, Italy, and Bulgaria. I'm wondering what strategies you have to broaden and diversify that export strategy.
We have a similar problem in Canada that is even more pronounced.
My second question is about travel to Canada. How did you find travelling to Canada? Was it difficult or easy to come to Canada, with your visa requirements and the process? I've certainly heard from my constituents that often travel to Canada is not as easy as it should be, given the links between our two countries.
It's a pleasure to have you here. Thank you very much.