Yes, Mr. Davies, and thank you. That's a very thoughtful question.
I think it's important that we approach the issue in a very pragmatic way and set aside ideological concerns that have historically tended to guide the relationship. In this particular instance, look at it from this perspective: does the measure we're looking at make sense? We have common standards for the electricity we use in our grid. Would we be more sovereign if we didn't? No. We have common standards for broadcasting, for technical standards. Would we be more sovereign if we didn't? No. If we use different gauges on our railroads, would we be more sovereign? No. If our roads didn't meet at the border, would we be more sovereign? No.
That doesn't mean that we simply abandon what makes us distinctive as Canadians. It means that we need to focus on those areas that are intrinsic to who we are, to protect them, but in the other areas to put everything on the table and simply say, where does it make sense for us, cohabiting on this North American continent, to work together as partners? We've done this for over a century in the case of the International Joint Commission.
I spent a very interesting meeting last week with the Honourable Herb Gray talking about his activities, and it works very well. We co-manage the St. Lawrence Seaway.
In other areas--in transportation planning, in the environment, mobility of people, trade policy, defence, security, a whole range of other areas--it makes sense for us to pragmatically sit down and examine how we can work together as partners in North America to the benefit of both our countries, and how to do it in a way that doesn't impinge on our sovereignty.
Finally, I'm a former health minister as well, so as it relates to harmonization of product testing and the like, where you have essentially the same goals, where you have essentially the same results, where your methodology is essentially the same but there are minor differences in terms of how you do it or report it, it makes sense for us to look for ways to collaborate on that.
Where we have fundamental differences in values is where we need to reserve to ourselves in Canada the right to go our own way.