Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
We've seen that the situation in agriculture often depends on the trust farmers have in the markets, the trust they have in government programs and the trust they have for their banker.
Between 1998 and 2005 or 2006, there was a very significant increase in farm debt. In broader terms, it was Canadian banks that allowed the farm debt to grow so much.
I actually know some people in my riding who came forward with huge projects that were hard to get approved and were turned down by the caisses populaires. But the banks accepted these projects and even allowed the producers to pay nothing down on the capital for five years. For the first five years of the loan, the producers were only paying off the interest, and in Quebec, this resulted in tremendous inflation of quotas, land and agricultural buildings. Of course, the producers got the best available in technological terms. I've seen hog farms where the cost was $600 per hog, even though the maximum for profitability is known to be $300 per hog.
Did the banks benefit somewhat from the enthusiasm of the early years of the new century in farming to increase their share of the market at the expense of Farm Credit Canada and the caisses populaires? It was really clear among farmers in Quebec that there was tremendous competition between the banks and the caisses populaires. That was not beneficial to farming in Quebec and Canada.
May I have your opinion on this?