Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you both for appearing here. It's been a while since I've been to beautiful Yellowknife. The last time I was there, my wife asked me if I saw the northern lights, and I told her I'd gone to bed early. I'm still bitter about that and I hope to visit again one of these days and to have that experience again.
I listened with interest, and I think I want to go to you, Mr. Yeo.
These are concerns that, frankly, we've heard repeatedly. You correctly assume that most Conservatives think this is a good idea. I get the impression that most Liberals think it's a good idea too. You must understand that these MPs, I think on both sides of the house, aren't those who have been swallowed up by big corporations and are doing their bidding—far from it.
I'm a businessman myself, a small business man. I come from humble roots, and my roots are still my roots. I certainly am not a shill for corporations. We listen to these things with interest because they are of concern, but I must tell you that we've had the opportunity to cross the country and that for the most part, aside from groups such as your own, when we talk to small and medium-sized businesses, they tell us that these things are important. They're important because free trade offers opportunity. It offers opportunity to Canadians, but it also offers opportunities to other countries.
I gave a speech in the House the day before yesterday. I talked about Korea and how, in the early 1970s, it was one of the poorest nations on earth. Because of trade, because of the free market system, it has risen to become one of the biggest powerhouses in Asia today.
I just want to throw this idea back to you. I want you to explain to the small and medium-sized businesses where they are wrong in their thinking, and why moving progressively forward to expand trade throughout the globe is a bad idea.