I'll try to be brief, Mr. Chairman.
We cannot ignore the fact that there are thousands and thousands of farmers in western Canada who wish to have the choice to market their grain the way they wish. They are not imposing their will upon others who wish to pool their grain. And that's the fundamental issue here. It's a fundamental issue of minority rights, which comes right down to being a Canadian.
Who represents the minority in this issue, and what rights do they have in Canada? Though this group may be a minority in absolute number, they may well be a majority in terms of grain produced. We don't know that for sure.
We spend a lot of time in this country arguing about minority rights. Right now you're in a debate just across the hall here about minority rights, about those who wish to cohabit with others of the same sex.
I just want to leave you with a parting statement.
Yesterday as I was listening to C-SPAN there was a member of the House who said, “I am not in this House to limit the rights of anyone”, and that was Olivia Chow from the NDP.