Thank you very much, Mr. Chair and guests.
It's an interesting subject, a matter I have had close to my heart for a long time. I realize that the colours of our vests may be different from time to time, as we have different stripes in this place. I think the concern we have in servicing the community we service, the farm community, is one and the same.
Mr. Tibben, you mentioned earlier that the importance of farm subsidies isn't as great as it.... Are you referring to the need in February 2007 versus January of 2005, or is this a general consensus? We're not getting the message.
I think it was you, Mr. Tibben, who suggested that farm subsidies are not as big an issue as they once were. I would think if they're not now, it's perhaps only because the prices in the commodity markets have risen. Maybe you could give some explanation, because we may leave this meeting today thinking, as we begin the review of our policy framework going forward, that maybe there's no need to do it, if we don't need farm programs; maybe we can correct it all with tax depreciation allowances and things like that.
I was a little taken aback by that statement.