Whenever we talk about the rise in the Canadian dollar or the drop in the U.S. dollar, we have to see that it makes us less competitive. In the past four years, U.S. pork producers have made money, while in Canada the margins have been far slimmer. This year, we are faced with huge losses. We are seeing an increase in pork production in the U.S., as well as an increase in exports. You gave some figures on this. The question we are asking is this: Is Canada going to remain in the industry? Does the Canadian government want Canada to continue exporting quality pork meat world-wide?
Earlier, we voiced our greatest concerns: the lack of support, and in the current conditions, the risk of seeing our industry's viability disappear. We think there will be renewed demand for these products world-wide, but will we still be there? We should. We shouldn't simply stand back and let U.S. producers take over. The Canadian government has to support those export products.
Take the oil industry—it generates profits, has an influence on the strength of the dollar and has a positive impact on the economy. But we should not drop those who are facing difficulties, such as producers in the pork and beef industry. We are not operating under the same rules of competitiveness. We talked about that earlier. I believe we pointed out all the regulatory requirements that Canadian and Quebec producers have to deal with; the Canadian Pork Council pointed them out as well. But we're letting in products from outside the country that are not subject to the same standards. How can we be competitive under those conditions? I think these are basic issues. If you allow imports that are subject to any old regulation, then you need to support our producers and our economy. Otherwise, you have to change the rules.