I would like to talk about what is happening at the moment. Mr. Pellerin and Mr. Richard, you are both in the hog industry. You are hog and beef producers. You have a great deal of interest in this field through Olymel. In light of what is going on today, I am feeling rather concerned. Influenza A (H1N1), which was first called swine flu, definitely did not help. Some countries are starting to close the market to Alberta pork at the border. It seems like we are going to go through the same nightmare that happened during the mad cow crisis. At some point, will the entire hog industry in Canada be penalized because one herd in Alberta will have to be killed?
I want to be very clear: I do not want to suggest a lack of solidarity with the hog and beef producers of Alberta. We must support them and assist them to get through this crisis. However, the way the mad cow crisis was managed was catastrophic for the industry as a whole. You said so yourself, Mr. Pellerin. Today, the situation is worse than it was before the beginning of that crisis.
Do you share my concern? I do not want to be a bearer of bad news. However, I think the government should learn from what happened before, and make sure we do not end up penalizing an entire industry because some countries do not understand the science behind influenza A (H1N1), and think that by closing the market to our pork, people will not eat any pork and will not get the flu. It is as simple as that. At the same time, this approach can have some very serious consequences.