Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I guess all of us argue over how much money is being put into agriculture. Somebody mentioned $1 billion last week, $3 billion, and all of this. Does it really get down to the good that we think it should do? In terms of each of your sectors, how do you benefit from the money that somebody puts on the table? Does it really do what it should do? We hear so much about working with government, in terms of the farmers of this country. There's so darned much red tape that some just get so frustrated, they throw it out. Others have to hire all types of accountants to try to meet the demands of our public servants. Are we really doing what we should do?
Statistics Canada is involved in a big way, too. They're doing all these surveys. Every month you get something. They're checking to see how many calves you have, or how many steers are going to have calves next spring, Larry—some of them ask. But do you have good access? Does the government give you the infrastructure you need to make good decisions?
The hog industry is one that's really so volatile, because you can get into a mess so quickly, and such a mess that it's difficult to get out of. I read the Nova Scotia paper about a month ago, and their people were after the minister for more and more money. You get a big barn full of hogs, and they all demand grain, and the farmers have no money. How do you get in? How do you get out?
Stephen was all ready to give some reaction to those comments, but what could we do better? Because the minister is saying to the public—and he announces all these things. Does it get to where it should go in order to make your industry more viable?