Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Minister, thank you for coming.
I must say, though, right off the top, that it feels to me as if you've been trying to pick a fight with us on this trade stuff from the beginning. I will continue to say that we recognize, as do many Canadians, that there is a lot to be gained from trade and from this trade deal. I won't say it again, because I only have five minutes, but I want to make that crystal clear.
While I haven't talked to Ian, I have talked to John Risley from Clearwater about trade and international trade. You may know that John has expressed publicly his concern about the other side of the trade issue, and that is on the impact trade can have. He feels, as we do, that we need to understand what the impacts are. We have to understand what the positives of trade are and move in that direction and work closely with those sectors that will benefit.
It's our responsibility, I believe, to understand what the impacts are, because these are negotiations and there are trade-offs. I think you have to acknowledge that. There will be impacts. Now, you decide, right? Your negotiators and you will decide or we will decide whether those are the right trade-offs, and we'll have that debate. We want to try to make sure that people are paying attention to what some of those trade-offs are.
I think of things like the supply management issues. We can have a debate on whether, in the long run, supply management, protecting our dairy sector and others, is the right way to go. It's an area of some significant concern for Canadians. While they've heard some things, they're not sure, especially those sectors directly affected, whether those programs are in fact being protected or they are going to end up coming off the table.
There are issues around procurement. We've also talked with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. These are real concerns people have, and they directly relate to the possible loss of jobs in our communities. I think it's fair that there be an open and transparent discussion about what those impacts will be.
With regard to intellectual property, Minister, especially as it relates to patents, but not just that, the impact on our health care system is potentially quite significant.
We need to know where you're going and where your negotiators are going on those issues.