I would like to pursue the idea of standards in food quality, safety, and harmonization, which you talked about.
In some of the areas I represent we have very small farmers who sell at farmers markets. Until September 30 of this year, farmers can slaughter a couple of animals and sell them--usually organically grown lamb and beef. This will be stopped because in British Columbia we now have rules through CFIA, due to pressure internationally and nationally, that all slaughterhouse facilities must have inspectors, whether they are mobile, small, or large.
A lot of people are saying this food is probably safer than any food you get out of the big plants, because most of the problems have come out of the big inspected plants. If we carry this further to farmers markets and say that everything sold in a farmers market needs to have some kind of approval, are we counteracting what we want to do here?
We have people in this country who are producing really good quality food. We have a lot of people going to farmers markets. I see a danger in what you're implying, because we will need to have more control, and that will then put these people out of business, as it is putting out of business the small beef and lamb producers in my area. Then we'll be moving more into the corporate world with those middlemen that we're all trying to fight against.
I'd just like to get your comments on that--and maybe those of somebody else.