Thank you, Mr. Chair.
My question is for Mr. Beauchamp and Mr. McAlpine.
Mr. Beauchamp, when you say we're not competitive with the Americans because our slaughterhouses are too small and the Canadian dollar has virtually reached parity with the U.S. dollar, I have trouble understanding that.
In a normal market, the Canadian dollar could be equal to the U.S. dollar, and we should still be competitive, that is to say that the Americans wouldn't have an advantage and we wouldn't either.
Apart from the fact that our slaughterhouses may be smaller and that our dollar has virtually reached parity with the U.S. dollar, why wouldn't we be competitive with them in international markets? Is it because of the price paid to producers? Why are the Americans our competitors for other reasons than the fact that our slaughterhouses are too small and the dollar is at parity?