Mr. Van Tassel, my question's really to you. You indicated your disappointment that there's not enough time spent on farm income. And yes, we're disappointed too, but we felt that we had no other choice but to make the Canadian Wheat Board an urgent matter because of the way the government is moving on the Canadian Wheat Board. They seem really intent on taking that marketing institution, which empowers farmers against basically the multinational grain trade, and undercutting that power. And they'll go to any lengths to get their way.
We've seen the gag orders. We've seen the changed voters list. And first is the Canadian Wheat Board.
You have single-desk selling in Quebec, as well. If they're willing to take away single-desk selling in western Canada, there's no question in my mind that that's an object for undermining as well, because if the economic powers that be out there want to disadvantage farmers, then this government seems to be on their side and not on the armers' side.
So my question, really, is on the farm income side, given the WTO and the new reality. And the new reality is that we're not going to get an agreement; all policy is geared towards decoupling farm income, really. What do we really have to do if farmers in Canada are going to survive? In my own view, we have to match the Americans dollar for dollar, whatever we have to do to do it, or our farmers aren't going to survive on this side of the border, and the advantage will go to them.
We had good presentations from the Canadian Federation of Agriculture in that regard, and I want to thank all witnesses for their presentations today. But start with that question, because at the end of the day, farm income is the bottom line. The Wheat Board helps in maximizing returns back to producers. How does the Government of Canada meet the Americans dollar for dollar?