That's why I worry if we're diverging now and having all these uniquely Canadian costs. I think time will tell, but I can keep my fingers crossed on that.
My next question is for the Dairy Farmers.
Monsieur Lampron, you said something like “had we known”. We realize that these are families. These are small businesses. This sector is being negatively affected. One of the things we want to do at this committee is our due diligence.
We've been asking the government for impact assessment studies that have been done. The Americans finished theirs last April, and they gave their lawmakers material about three inches thick to go through ahead of ratification. We were not given the same courtesy here, even though my colleague Mr. Hoback wanted to do those studies last spring. At the time the Liberals had the majority and we weren't able to do that.
I'm worried. On Friday the C.D. Howe Institute gave its impact assessment for the agreement. Sadly, this looks as if it's going to be a $10-billion hit on our economy going through with this agreement. One of the things we've heard is that the only thing worse is not having an agreement. It's going to be even worse than that. We're in a catch-22 situation here.
I was wondering if you could comment on the openness and transparency of the government going through this process. The minister, rightfully, was here. She said that they consulted extensively. We've heard from the dairy industry, and pharmaceuticals of course, that they don't agree with that. She said that she was in front of committee 12 times. I think it was four times. Before the election, she said that this agreement was going to be a victory for Canada and a win-win-win.
Do you agree with that assessment? How would you rank the government on its openness and transparency on the way it managed this deal?