Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I will be splitting my time with Mrs. Skelton.
Thank you, Mr. Minister, for being here today. I, for one, welcome you here any time, even if it is only for an hour.
Mr. Minister, we all know the issue and the problems right now in the pork and beef sectors. There are some things the government can do and some we can't. One, of course, is dealing with a high dollar. High feed costs is another one that's hitting those industries right now. There's a bit of overproduction in there that figures into it, and also, especially in the cattle end of it or the beef end of it, we're still not fully over the BSE whack. So we have a lot of things ahead.
One thing this committee did not too long ago was pass a motion unanimously to have the department look into a review of all CFIA inspection costs--not just at slaughter and packing plants, but at the border as well--which affect both pork and beef heavily. I know that when I came to you with the idea of having that, you were very favourable towards it, and I thank you for that. I believe the study is well under way.
I'm wondering if you have any kind of update you can give me on how that study is going, what you may have found to this point, and what we may do about it?