Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you to all the witnesses for being with us here today.
I think it's fair to speak for my colleague in the Liberal Party and those on this side in the New Democrats when I say that we're having a hard time trying to figure out exactly what the Pacific Alliance is. We have free trade agreements with all four countries already. Four of the five countries involved in this are already in the TPP negotiations, presumably discussing the very same things that will be discussed here. We had some great testimony last week from some academic sources and the North-South Institute who suggested that this is more about politics than it is about economics, and that it's really an attempt by the Conservative government here to foster a coalition with right-wing governments in South America as a counterweight to the Bolivarian movement in South America, which represents far more people there.
I note that Canada has trade deficits with all four of these countries, and the biggest trade deficit is with the country that we've had the longest free trade agreement with, which is Mexico. We have a $21.5 billion trade deficit with Mexico, and we've had a free trade agreement since 1994. We have a $3 billion trade deficit with Peru, an $830 million deficit with Chile, and a $78 million deficit with Colombia.
I guess my first question will be to Ms. Katz. Can you see any economic benefit to Canada entering or deepening our political integration with these four countries?