Before we begin this meeting, could I make a point of information for the benefit of all of our colleagues on the committee?
As you may have seen, I was called late Friday night to come to Ottawa early Saturday morning to make an announcement with Minister Ng that we have concluded negotiations on the Canada-United Kingdom Trade Continuity Agreement. I wanted to make sure that all members understood what that meant.
Essentially, the negotiations have concluded, but the text is not yet available. Lawyers in both the United Kingdom and Canada are working on this legal review as we speak. I understand that normally this type of review takes between two and four weeks. Obviously, we have our required process here to go through the House and back to committee, and, of course, back to the House and then to the Senate. The United Kingdom also has their legislative process to follow.
I am certainly open to discussing how we might forward as a committee, perhaps after we hear from our witnesses. I certainly recall everybody's interest in getting a deal done before the deadline of January 1. I know that is also of interest to our business community.
I would be curious to hear from our colleagues on how this committee's work can move forward in the most appropriate way, bearing in mind that we have important work to do as a committee as well.
I leave that with you, Madam Chair. I am happy to follow your lead as to how you would like the meeting to proceed.