Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thanks again to our witnesses.
Mr. Van Keulen, welcome back.
Mr. Woo, it's great to have you. Last time, you were at our committee via video conference. We've come to your beautiful community. As a British Columbian representing the interior riding of Kelowna—Lake Country, I appreciate the great work of your foundation, which is helping constituents in my riding as well as around the province, educating people about this most ambitious trade initiative being negotiated with the Asia-Pacific region.
It's important for Canadian businesses to realize that we do not have a bilateral trade agreement with these countries that we're working with specifically, or the majority of them. Australia, for Campion Boats manufacturers, we're at a disadvantage. The U.S. has a bilateral with Australia. I know it's important. It would only be 5%, but that's the bottom line, 5% off a major product such as a boat. It makes a big difference.
Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam—of course, the U.S. is the twelfth partner with Canada in the negotiations at the present time. You talked about the potential of China coming to the table.
It's important also to reinforce the magnitude of the ambitiousness of Prime Minister Harper's vision, with Minister Fast working as the trade minister on the CETA, which covers an area of about 500 million people with a GDP of $17 trillion, and the 792 million approximate population of the TPP partners with a $27.5 trillion GDP. If we're able to secure these agreements, Canada would be the only country in the world that would have a comprehensive trade agreement with 75% of the world's GDP. It's an incredible legacy that can come together. I know it's very ambitious, and I understand that lots of discussion has to take place.
Picking up on my colleague Mr. Davies' comments—I appreciate your foundation's work; I've read some of the work—you've made some excellent suggestions on how we can help the majority of Canadian businesses get engaged and take advantage of these trade agreements. As you know, British Columbia is working with the U.S., who is still our number one trading partner and biggest ally and will continue to be.
But what are some of the ways your foundation is...? I looked online. You have some seminars coming up. Maybe you could share how we can work together to educate British Columbians and Canadians about the opportunities that present themselves.