Let me say a few words about the growth of beef imports from the U.S. If we compare 2004 and 2005, we see an 18% increase. From 2005 to 2006, we see a 25% increase. Thus, that makes a 43% increase in beef imports from the U.S. alone.
Canada's beef production industry is in a crisis. We have an import quota, and we are ready to play the international trade card. The quota is 76,000 tonnes. In 2003, however, when they shut their doors, 200,000 tonnes were imported into Canada. I don't know what the figure for 2007 will be. The year is not yet over, but the percentage is around 25%. How can Canada allow products from the U.S., our principal trading partner, to come in without any harmonization and without any restrictions?
The Canadian government has issued regulations on BSE. These are anti-trade restrictions. They are preventing us from trading properly with other countries. If the Canadian government wants to eliminate the beef industry in Canada, let it say so, and do so. In Quebec, there are no steer slaughtering operations left. We send truckloads of steer to the U.S for slaughter. There is one slaughterhouse in Ontario. It makes no sense at all. The situation in all Canadian provinces is the same. On the day when everything shuts down and we see yet another crisis, it will be even worse than the one we saw in 2003. The situation is urgent—the government must support this industry and help producers make it through the crisis.