Federally, I don't believe there's been anything in the way of cuts in research, but neither has there been an increase in research money going to our industry. I believe the only federal research facility we have is in Beaverlodge, which is way up in northern Alberta. This is fine, but most of the bees are now in more southern areas. Pollination and honey production is mainly in central Alberta. They are doing good work up there, but we need more people spread across the country. We need more in Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, and all the provinces.
Provincially, there have been cutbacks, especially in Alberta. It's been something we've been fighting the last couple of years. I commend the Alberta government for supporting our hive health program, which we've just implemented. I hope other provinces jump on board.
The enforcement of standards is a touchy issue in our industry, because we don't have to be CFIA registered. There are a lot of producers in Canada that have to be forced to be CFIA-registered. I can understand and sympathize with them, but I don't agree with that. I don't think I should be getting the same price for my product in a CFIA-registered operation as somebody who's operating out of an old chicken coop that hasn't been cleaned in five years. It also applies to the products coming into Canada. If all of us were mandated to be CFIA-registered and follow the food safety program that we are working on, it would cost the producers some, but it would also limit the amount of honey that could come into Canada and it might increase the quality. If the quality is the same, fine. We'll label it properly and it's not an issue. But I have a real problem when we have to meet standards that aren't required of the stuff coming in.