Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good afternoon, everyone.
First off, I have a question for Mr. Peppard. I want to hear your thoughts on my next comment.
The committee has heard from a number of people in the business world. They told us they were concerned that U.S. companies competing with Canadian and Quebec companies could take advantage of the ignorance of governments in the United States. U.S. government procurement opportunities will now be accessible to Canadian companies. Governments in the U.S. will be very attentive to U.S. companies, which could take advantage of governments' ignorance of international trade or international legal instruments to present points of view that are solely in their favour. That could result in contracts being awarded to American companies, even though they may not be in full compliance with, if not in violation of, international trade rules.