I call the meeting to order.
Good morning, everybody. Welcome to the House of Commons Standing Committee on International Trade.
We are a very active committee. Over the last year, we've been dealing with softwood lumber issues and many other U.S. issues. Besides softwood lumber, we had a lot of agricultural issues with chicken and dairy. Also we're dealing with the European trade Agreement that is getting tidied up now, which is on our plate. One of the biggest things we've been undertaking over the last year is the TPP, which is a huge agreement. It deals with 12 countries, 40% of the world's GDP, and over 800 million people.
Our committee consists of members right across the country. Not all members are here; some of them are still in Ottawa. I'm Mark Eyking and I'm from Cape Breton, and Tracy Ramsey and Dave Van Kesteren are from southern Ontario. Mr. Ritz is from Saskatchewan, Karen Ludwig is from New Brunswick, Madam Lapointe is from Quebec, and Mr. Dhaliwal is from B.C.
This is our last province. We've saved the best for last. We also did a video conference with the territories. We had over 125 briefs and 20,000 to 30,000 emails, which are still coming in. We're hoping to finish our consultations by the end of October and then put a report together for the House of Commons.
This morning we're so glad to have representatives of the Province of Nova Scotia, Minister Colwell and MLA Farrell. We have roughly half an hour. The floor is yours, with no set time. Usually presenters use five minutes, but it's whatever way you want to cut it. We're very interested, Minister, about your recent trip to Asia and your sense of that. We'll appreciate your insights on the opportunity that is there.
The floor is yours. Welcome.