Well, in a nutshell, an EPA will have direct advantages for certain trade products. But the biggest advantages will be indirect and will be things downstream. In general, it will be seen as a catalyst for an improvement in relations. It will be all over the newspapers and in the headlines. So it will mean more tourists. It will mean more students going to UBC. It would mean Canada being on the map for busy policy-makers and bureaucrats considering maybe other partnerships and other agreements on a range of issues. In general, I think it will thicken the human connections and the intellectual connections between B.C. and Japan. It can only be a catalyst. It's hard to measure in advance, but in general, an EPA is a catalyst for a lot more behind it.
On May 29th, 2012. See this statement in context.