Agriculture committee  No provision. When this happened in British Columbia, the federal government gave special permission to the national agency to import eggs into the province.

Agriculture committee  It would not support a family.

Agriculture committee  You would need outside income.

Agriculture committee  Well, right now, I can tell you the average age is about 46 years old. The number of producers has stabilized. It's not increasing or decreasing. In some provinces you will see new producers coming into the business, but there are only a few. Some of them are producers who sell a certain type of production to switch to layers.

Agriculture committee  Yes.

Agriculture committee  Yes. We're not here to ask for money; we're here to try to get the proper compensation when a disease affects our flocks.

Agriculture committee  Our goal at CEMA is to supply the eggs that a consumer wants. A producer is free to ship his eggs to whichever grader there is in the area. CEMA is not involved at the retail level; it's the grader who is involved there. For us at CEMA, we have to make sure there are enough eggs and enough choice for the consumer.

Agriculture committee  I would say for a young farmer, I'd take a number of 5,000 layers, for instance. If you wanted to get into the business, you'd be looking at close to $1 million. That would be land, equipment, buildings, everything.

Agriculture committee  As I mentioned, our preference would be under the Health of Animals Act. But if we could come up with a program, such as you're talking about, I think it's something we would be prepared to look into. One thing that is worrisome at this point in time is that if something happened today, where are we?

Agriculture committee  Our preference would be to have it in the Health of Animals Act. It would be an easier way for us to deal with it. Right now, what we have on the table is $20 a person for the compensation that we feel would be adequate.

Agriculture committee  This paragraph states that we will receive compensation for the shortfall under the new APF, as part of the risk management component. In such a situation, the federal government and the provincial governments will probably consult each other. If that is the case, producers may have to wait a long time before receiving compensation for loss of income caused by Avian influenza, for example.

Agriculture committee  Agriculture Canada.

Agriculture committee  If compensation cannot be provided under the health of animals program, a program that would allow producers to be compensated properly would have to implemented as quickly as possible.

Agriculture committee  I am thinking about the situation that occurred in British Columbia, and I would say that two or three months would be the maximum length of time acceptable.

Agriculture committee  Correct.