Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you, Mr. Fowler.
In your opening remarks, Mr. Fowler, you mentioned the success that Canada has had in terms of its trade agreements, be it NAFTA or CETA or CPTPP or the bilaterals that we've been able to achieve. I'd like to thank you for your service. I was speaking to you earlier, just before this meeting, and you mentioned that for about a quarter of a century, you've been helping Canada succeed in those agreements.
It's pretty normal that we would have a change in government, of course, over those 25 years. We've had many different governments here in Canada. We know that these negotiations do take time. They take years. We can look at something like CETA, our agreement with Europe. I can recall being in the House at the time. I know that MP Hoback was sitting on the committee as we went through those negotiations. He was sitting in this room under the Harper government, when we had Minister Ed Fast as international trade minister, and then when Minister Freeland was our international trade minister. I recall being in the House the day this was passed. Minister Freeland walked across the aisle and shook MP Fast's hand. We understood that this was a real team Canada approach and that we did it together.
My question for you is this. When we enter the global stage as team Canada, as parliamentarians, which we've done in Washington, D.C., and around the world, what does that mean for your job when you are at the table and in those rooms? Could you take us through what that means, in terms of your negotiations, for our brand as team Canada? Could you tell those who are watching, and us here, what that means to you in terms of the leverage you have, knowing that we are united?