Industry committee  Again, it goes back to what we were talking about earlier. If, within this bill, there is an ability for these third party dealers to be able to access the equipment, then yes, there is a benefit to farmers. This is because it comes down to timeliness and their ability to have somebody get to their farm within an hour to fix the machinery, or to be able to do it themselves, as I mentioned before.

Industry committee  Definitely, cost is an implication for farmers when they have this type of downtime. Even just bringing in any dealership to conduct their repairs is a cost to the farmer. If they can do that of their own accord by having access to the tools, then, of course, that reduces their costs.

Industry committee  I'm not sure how to....

Industry committee  It's not working. Sorry.

Industry committee  Yes. Thank you. Sorry about that.

Industry committee  I think you really hit it on the head. You know and understand the challenges of the expanse of the rural community in which farmers operate, and how far from the OEMs and dealerships they can be. Given this legislation or enabling independent service providers to access the appropriate tools to help farmers, it would create more choice within the industry, so there would be independent dealers a lot closer to farm sites, where farmers could then access them in a more timely manner or they could come out with the appropriate tools.

Industry committee  Thank you. Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and honourable members of the committee. It is my pleasure to be here today as a representative of the Grain Growers of Canada. My name is Shannon Sereda. I am the director of government relations, policy and markets with the Alberta Wheat and Barley Commissions.