Mr. Chair, I'll just begin here briefly and try to preface this, and then my colleague Adrian will give you the specifics on the studies.
Members of the committee, I want you to think of a number of things when you look at the Canadian Wheat Board. First and foremost, western Canada is very landlocked. We're the most landlocked major grain exporter in the world, and we are also in a climatic zone that is harsh to extremely difficult. And yet as an industry, even though prices are very low, we've had a lot of success in this country. We export 20 million tonnes or more of grain every year from this region of this country. We execute the sales. This is done by the Wheat Board, by elevator companies, and by railways. We satisfy customer needs from around the world.
So when you look at the holistic approach, has this been successful? Yes, I think so. And we should look very closely then at what we are doing to ensure that we do not disrupt this very successful industry.
Adrian will now give you the specifics, as you asked for them.