Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I actually have some trade questions for you.
We'll thank Mr. Julian, although his party represents only about 12% of the seats in the House of Commons, so he's certainly not in the majority in terms of his thinking.
Thank you for coming. I know it's a cold part of the world to be coming to at this point in the year.
I have only two questions, and then I'm going to pass it over to my colleague, the Parliamentary Secretary for Trade.
The first question revolves around potential future contracts for the canal. I realize that probably most contracts are out, so I just want to know what the thinking is in terms of contracts that may be available and may still be left for Canadian companies or those that may be participating. And then perhaps I could get your thoughts on why it's important that we ratify this deal before the U.S. does, and your perception of ongoing opportunities for Canadian companies to be ahead of the ratification for the U.S. Obviously, they're there. They're at the table. You guys have worked on an agreement. They haven't ratified it in Congress.
So perhaps I could get your thoughts on that, and then I'll turn it over to my colleague, Mr. Keddy.