Thank you for that very important question.
At the time the FTA was done, the big issue was tariff barriers between Canada and the U.S., and when NAFTA was done, that was the same focus. We weren't looking at these new, fast-developing areas of the global economy. Increasingly, trade is being done as a result of information technologies over the Internet and through our ability to connect ourselves electronically with one another.
We are seeing inconsistent standards being brought in around the world. This makes it very difficult for Canadian businesses to be able to do business globally. What TPP does is bring in one set of standards. It helps to ensure openness in terms of borders so we don't find the global economy partitioned in terms of the ability to do business over the Internet, and it also helps to bring the intellectual property regime of the other members of TPP more in line with what Canada has today as well.
It's a more modern agreement. It reflects the contemporary realities of operating the global economy today, and as a consequence, then, with Canadian companies ready to take on the world through these new technologies, it's an advantage for us.