International Trade committee  We have to do something and we have to keep working on that in order to achieve results. In the long run, what counts are results.

International Trade committee  Absolutely. You are completely right.

International Trade committee  Yes, loud and clear. Can you hear me?

International Trade committee  I am currently at the mine in La Guajira province in northeastern Colombia, next to the Venezuelan border and the Caribbean Sea.

International Trade committee  It is an honour and a privilege to testify before our Parliament on the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement. First of all, I'll say a few words about myself. I am a dual citizen. I was born in Colombia and went to Canada, to Ottawa, in 1986, at the end of Mr. Betancur's presidency.

International Trade committee  Okay. In reading the minutes of the testimony, it strikes me that opposition to the agreement is based mostly on ideological grounds and on Colombian internal partisan politics, not on the merits of trade and the long-term contribution that Canada and Canadians can provide to Colombia and Colombians, and vice versa.