Thank you.
First of all, in regard to the own use import and the GROU, I think the only acceptable way to proceed from now is to leave the own use imports program in place, introduce the GROU, and let farmers evaluate the effectiveness of the programs. The way I see it, I would guess that two-thirds to three-quarters of the value would be lost under the GROU--the value to farmers, the benefit to farmers--and that's simply not acceptable. That's the way I would certainly like to see it proceed.
In terms of the 2% strychnine, there have been again more statements made that simply aren't verified and backed up by the studies done. In terms of environmental concerns, there are concerns expressed, but there's nothing in any study that would indicate that they're valid concerns.
That's part of the reason that farmers are so upset by losing this product. There is no acceptable replacement. None of the pre-mixes work effectively. Just talk to farmers. They've been widely used. None of them work effectively. The only effective control for Richardson's ground squirrels, gophers, is the 2% solution of strychnine, or a higher percentage, mixed with grain so it can be used fresh. It has to be used within a very few hours of the time it's mixed, certainly less than a day. It becomes stale and the gophers just don't want to eat it beyond that time.
In terms of police forces, if there was some concern expressed by the police, it was not given to me in these documents that I received upon order of the House of Commons. That is of great concern to me. The only RCMP issue that was expressed was a study that was done when the PMRA or some former body asked some RCMP officers to check into the stores to see if the storage in the area was acceptable. So they went to the merchants who were selling this.
Some talked of poisoning dogs. Well, guess what? Dogs are being poisoned now with ethylene glycol, common antifreeze used in cars. Are you going to take that away? Why isn't that gone? That should be taken away, clearly, under the same logic. It's against the law to poison a neighbour's dog, so deal with that problem.
Don't deny farmers a product that can save them millions and millions of dollars every year. Deal with the problem. That's the same logic that led to the gun registry and denied duck hunters and farmers appropriate access to firearms. It's not acceptable logic.
Again, I'd like an answer to my question as to where you're going from here. Where is the PMRA going from here in terms of the availability of strychnine for farmers?