There are a couple of things that I wanted to raise.
One of the things that you mentioned was a dispute resolution mechanism. I have two documents here. One's an open letter from lawyers, who have a particular ability to analyze these agreements. They say that in their view what they're seeing out of the TPP and other agreements will fundamentally shift the balance of power between investor states and other affected parties in a manner that will undermine fair resolution of legal disputes.
They go on to recommend that there should be an open and independent judicial system for the resolution of disputes. Although this is from the United States, the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy has raised serious concerns around dispute resolution mechanisms. They indicate in their view that if the TPP is implemented, it would:
...expand protections for investors over those for consumers and farmers, and severely restrict governments’ ability to use public policy to reshape food systems.
I come from Vancouver Island where the agriculture industry.... We talked about wine. But certainly we have a very vibrant active organic production, farm-gate sales, and a lot of mechanisms that local people think are really important.
What do you think needs to be included in the dispute resolution system in order to protect farmers?