Thank you very much, Chair.
I want to thank all the witnesses for coming today.
The way I look at this study is the same way I look at most government regulations: On one end, you have the consumer benefits, so the safety of consumers. On the other hand, you have a thriving market that includes the producers, importers and retailers. I think somewhere in the middle would represent consumer choice, alternative medicine, affordability and the thriving market.
I do want to say that I was in Japan and Hong Kong. I know this industry has been thriving in Korea and Taiwan for many, many years. Mainland China is picking it up as well. I see signals in Canadian markets. Especially in big urban centres like Toronto, these shops are opening up. Obviously that's a sign that there's a market for it. If you go into Loblaws or Metro or these franchise chains, you will see this product on the shelf, so it is actually very important for us to get ahead of this and to take a look at the licensing and inspection.
I have questions on licensing. Just help me to understand the process here. First of all there is a lot being talked about manufacturing domestic products. What's the requirement for import products when it comes to licensing?
Maybe the deputy minister can start.