Yes, we should deal with the United States as a partner. We have preferred access to the United States. As you have noted, we have a whole series of entrees into the United States, the best entrees of any country in the world. In fact, we are in an envious position, although we don't always feel that sometimes because, as I pointed out in my testimony, we are often collateral damage to American actions aimed at another country—more recently, China, for example, in the case of steel and aluminum tariffs.
My argument is that for us it's a daily, permanent campaign involving not just our embassy but also members of this committee going down to see their counterparts. When we make the case for Canada with our counterparts in the United States, most of the time we are successful. Again, the business of America is business. They like us and understand us, and we can make a compelling case as to why we do things on a mutually beneficial basis. I used the word “reciprocity” for good reason: Americans aren't free traders, but they do understand the principle of reciprocity, and that's what we've basically managed to do over the past 40 years.
These agreements, to go back to my point, are based on the premise of partnership. The province that has often taken the lead in this is Quebec, quite successfully, with successive premiers going down to and working in the United States market.