On the consultations, yes and no. You do reach groups to get input that are important and are involved in trade, but what's missing is the ability to use the consultations to meet with groups that haven't been participating in trade and have been marginalized—first nations, female-led firms. It's going to take you close to a decade to negotiate trade agreements. You can use the consultations to identify issues that prevent these groups from participating in the agreement when it's signed 10 years later. We're losing valuable time to be able to reach out to groups and work with them on trade capacity building to be able to take advantage of the agreements.
That's one of the recommendations I've been working on, working with the member for Winnipeg Centre and talking about first nations and how to get them involved. You've got to use the consultations more, not just to get input, but to identify people in advance and use the time during the negotiations to be able to work with them. You also need to better understand what exemptions are needed in trade agreements to protect domestic policy to be able to work with these groups.