Thank you very much, and thank you for the complimentary remarks related to CFIA.
You've raised a number of issues. Let me start in terms of the transportation.
Canadian regulations do currently permit longer periods without feed, water, and rest than prescribed in the standards of other countries. That is one of the reasons we have undertaken the work that I mentioned in terms of a review.
We believe it is necessary to strike a balance between an outcome-based goal and a prescriptive regulatory approach. Importantly, it is our view that specific timeframes may be problematic. Instead, we would prefer to focus on the desirable outcomes in terms of the physiological effect on animals when transported. The modifications that we aim at are to address those physiological impacts as opposed to specifying a particular timeframe for transport, recognizing that in extreme weather a specific timeframe may still be too long to allow for the humane treatment of the animal.
In terms of the specifics of your question related the current regulations, if the chair would permit, I would like to invite one of my colleagues, Dr. Martin Appelt, to speak to some of the specific requirements in current regulations.