Thank you.
Good morning, panellists. Thank you so much for being here.
I am going to be transparent and say that there's a strong New Brunswick connection.
Mr. Neve, we'll see you again hopefully in St. Andrews.
Mr. Richard, thank you for joining us.
Ms. Findlay, it's nice to meet you today.
I have a number of questions. Firstly, from someone who's taught international trade for almost 20 years, one of the things that I would always tell my students in New Brunswick is how important it is that we are at the table. An agreement is valuable because it represents people who have come together to agree upon different terms, different rules. I'm certainly very proud of what the government has done with the progressive trade agenda. While I see it less as about lecturing, I do think this agenda is an important part of the discussion. If we're not having that discussion, whether about human rights or the role of women and indigenous people, then who is going to have that discussion with these nations?
I'll form my questions largely around that.
I also want to get back, Mr. Richard, to the questions on infrastructure, so I'll proceed quickly.
Ms. Findlay, you had mentioned the importance of domestic policy and working with businesses. I couldn't agree more. If we look historically at the number of trade agreements that we have penned in Canada, we have not done a reciprocal amount of work, I believe, in helping companies get more engaged with trade, whether it's indigenous people, whether it's women, but also with the small or micro businesses.
Mr. Richard, if we look at a company like Cavendish Farms, you are well integrated in the international trade market. For the micro businesses with one to four employees, and that are about 54% of Atlantic Canadian businesses, what's the spinoff for them from you as a larger company, or medium-sized company on an international scale? How can the micro businesses benefit?