Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thanks to all the presenters. There were some very good comments from all of you.
One in particular, Brenda, is something you touched on. I think all of us in agriculture and in government sometimes.... You pointed out the vast need for more diversity and a willingness to change in agriculture. You know that old saying: “My dad and my grandpa grew wheat and raised cattle, so that's what I have to do.” It's been pointed out here that there are other markets out there, and that we should be open, as farmers, to some of them.
You made a couple of comments, Leroy, that are probably a little controversial, but I found them interesting. Caps are one subject you touched on. I myself have been leaning toward them a little bit in some ways, and I'll tell you why. I'll use the first and only example that comes to mind, out of CAIS. A year or a year and a half ago, the Saskatchewan grain pool, which is not in my view a farmer, ended up with money out of CAIS. And there are other examples out there.
My question to you would be, should companies like that really have access to government programs? That's only one example. I'm not trying to pick on the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool.
Another one you mentioned is own-use imports. I presume the history is that government was approached by producers, and I think it started more in the west, and I understand that, as a way to help save the producer money. But you pointed out the fact that what I'll call local farm agri-dealers, or what have you, lose out there. And I understand that. This does take money out of the locals.
The question is, is there a happy medium there that government should be following? I'd like to hear a little more on that.
This is a question for all of you. You mentioned the one day a week in the office that's pretty nearly mandatory today. As a farmer, when there's seed to go in the ground, or cattle to round up, or a crop to come out, that's the last place we want to be. But we have to be today.
How does a government put in stopgaps and measures—an audit system—to make sure the programs aren't being abused, without some kind of paperwork? I'd love nothing better than to have it simplified, and I'm sure there is a way, but I'd like to hear some general comments from everybody on just how we could do that.