Thank you very much.
I want to thank all of you for your presentations. My questions are mostly for Ms. Reynolds and Ms. Brisebois.
Although we agree when it comes to fees charged in the case of credit cards and debit cards, I have to disagree with your statements on supply management. I come from a riding and a region that depend heavily on family farms, especially in the dairy sector. Supply management is currently the only way for those farms to survive. That's not a form of subsidy, but a way to ensure that the prices paid to producers are not as volatile as in the United States, for instance.
Two factors come into play—the first of which is volatility. In the United States, between 2006 and 2008, milk prices almost doubled in a span of a few months. Prices then dropped by about 75% or 80%. That kind of a situation makes it very difficult for family farms to plan ahead.
The second factor is the following. In the United States, prices are temporarily lower—and once again, that depends on how volatile the market is—but producers are heavily subsidized. However, we are no longer subsidizing our farms, our producers. Since the U.S. does subsidize, major discrepancies periodically occur between the prices paid to producers and consumer prices.
I am interested in your reaction to the arguments you are advancing regarding supply management. I can understand that you are looking after your own interests, but production is directly affected, especially when it comes to family farms.