Thanks, Mr. Chairman.
What we have come out with certainly doesn't make our work here illegitimate. We've called all the witnesses; they've been here. We know what the public wants. We know what the agriculture sector wants; we know what the consumer wants; I think I know what this committee wants. We're all headed in the same way.
Paul, nobody other than myself have I ever heard.... You've been as exasperated as I have been over the years at how slowly things happen in government. You don't have to be a rocket scientist, in the Prime Minister's or the minister's office, to know that, from the feedback we had from our witnesses, this was the right thing to do.
With him going ahead and acting, we have a chance here today to basically endorse the action. If you want to tweak it or something, everybody has that right, but for God's sake, let's not play politics with this. It's the right thing to do, and in no way does it make our work obsolete or whatever.
We have a job to do to follow this through and get it as part of legislation and enacted for the benefit not just of our farmers, who need it more than anybody, but of the consumer.
The one thing I hear from consumers all the time when my urban people phone me up is, “Larry, we hope you're helping agriculture. We hear the problems out there. What can we do to help?”
I always say, “Well, if you don't buy local, buy Canadian”. They say, “Well, things are confused in the grocery story. We don't know what we're buying.” So I know they're going to want this.
To me, the intent of the Prime Minister is not to take anything away from the committee. It's to get something done that's the right thing to do and to quit delaying it.
I was surprised it happened this quickly, but I'm very pleased that it did, and I think we all should be.