Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you, Minister Fast, and to your hard-working staff.
I have had the pleasure of being on the committee for over nine years, and I know you have a great team of hard-working officials that travel around the world to make these agreements possible. The Prime Minister's goal is to use trade as a stimulus and to open the new markets, so I thank you for your passion for people and enthusiasm for this initiative as well.
Following up on my colleague, Mr. Gill's, comments about when Mr. Modi came to Canada and had the opportunity to meet with him, as you did with several constituents.... I know we're looking at potentially exporting apples from, I say, the best riding in Canada, Kelowna—Lake Country, and cherries to China, and wine to South Korea, some of the new markets that are opening up.
This weekend I had some constituents meet with Philippines President Aquino when he was in Vancouver for a community cultural event, and a female there said that we have to get a trade agreement with the Philippines. I know Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that you will be leading a trade delegation to the Philippines later this month. I simply want to know if the purpose of this trip is similar to the trade mission and delegation you took last year to Laos and Myanmar and to other Asian countries?