Thank you.
I'll start with you, Ms. MacTavish. I certainly appreciate you being here on behalf of sheep producers. I don't have a lot of sheep producers in my riding, but I do have some, and I do have one really large wool mill out near Carstairs. My uncle actually used to be a sheep farmer at one time as well, so I do have a bit of a connection there.
I have several questions I would like to ask. You mentioned sheep producers and some of the problems they have with predators. I know that all farmers in my riding, whether they're sheep producers or other producers, have similar types of problems with predators, such as coyotes and gophers. One of the things they have made very clear is that the long-gun registry is a real problem for them. It causes great issues dealing with those pests and those predators. Probably the biggest single complaint I get in my riding is about that long-gun registry, certainly among farmers. The only thing that might rival it might be the Wheat Board monopoly. Those are the big concerns from farmers in my riding.
You talked about dealing with predators. Our government recognizes the need to stop going after farmers and hunters and others who are law-abiding citizens who just want to be able to use their guns to deal with things like the predators they have on their farms. We recognize that, and we have brought forward a bill, Bill C-391, that we want to see get rid of the long-gun registry. The biggest problem we have in doing that is that we have members in the opposition who represent rural areas who aren't standing up for their constituents. It would appear to me that they're going to take their bidding from their political masters here in Ottawa rather than listening to their constituents and standing up for those farmers and supporting us in trying to get rid of that long-gun registry.
Would the farmers you represent, the sheep producers you represent, find that the long-gun registry is something they'd like to see gone so that the nuisance is no longer there and they can deal with these predators?