Thanks, Mr. Chair.
I think this is an important motion. The minister and I have been doing round tables across the country and meeting with farmers, and certainly this is a subject of keen discussion, particularly among the pork and beef farmers, of course. There's just no question that it's having an impact on those agricultural sectors.
I think it's very appropriate for this committee to have these people come in front of us to talk about and to explain the reasoning behind COOL, what exactly is this voluntary component, and how voluntary it is.
I'd also like to know the impact it's having on their red meat sector, because the information I'm receiving is that this is not only impacting our red meat sector, it's impacting their red meat sector. What are their plans in terms of moving forward on this?
So, yes, I'm in favour of moving ahead with this.