Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Minister, thank you for being here to answer our questions.
Mr. Minister, I will start with a question that was raised recently in the media. The French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, told the European Parliament about his desire to pass a Buy European Act similar to the Buy American Act, which is being negotiated but at a slower pace. Patrick Kron, Chairman and CEO of Alstom, a major French manufacturer of railway equipment, said he was in favour of this.
Since we are negotiating a free-trade agreement that could make us vulnerable and weaken our position on the European market, aren't we negotiating a sucker deal?