Our quota system was put in place much later than Ontario's. In the early 1980s, our system was based on actual production. At the time, we were producing about 15 million pounds of tobacco and quotas had been allotted to us. I believe the quota system in Ontario was established much earlier and was not based on actual production.
After analyzing the various requests from our tobacco companies concerning quotas, we concluded that a conversion factor should be applied, which the departmental people recognized at the time. Throughout the discussions, however, those solutions were not retained because the TAAP had not been designed for that purpose. However, we were assured that a longer-term program would be established.