I know he's being defensive because I've got him. I've pinned him down now and he has to react with something.
Mr. Chair, the hog industry knows there are too many hogs in Canada; it's just Mr. Easter who doesn't know it. The problem is that if the government pushes out money to sustain the hog market at the size it is at right now, it's not actually helping the hog industry in the long run.
That's why the programs we announced--because the program itself is made up of three key components--were done in collaboration with the pork industry. So we're actually working with the pork industry, Chair, to address their needs as they exist today. But we want to do it in a way that does not distort the reality. Simply pushing money out and falsely sustaining the size of the herd when the herd is too big would be the wrong thing to do. The right thing to do is to put in place programs that actually help pork farmers.
How was our program received, Chair? I can give you a quote. The president of the Canada Pork Council, Mr. Preugschas, said “We think it's going to make a huge difference.” Curtiss Littlejohn, the Ontario Pork Producers representative, says “These three programs provide options and choices for producers and ultimately will help to rightsize the industry.”
These are the kinds of comments that we're getting back from the pork industry. I'm not saying it's going to be an easy transition, Chair. As I mentioned before in a previous meeting, it's fine that the industry knows that the hog sector has to grow smaller, but when it comes down to the actual farmer who has to decide if his farm and his business are viable or not, that is a very personal, very emotional, and very difficult decision. But at the level of government programming, we have delivered the right programs. We have delivered what the pork industry asked for and they are happy with it. I just read you some quotes. Mr. Easter, of course, will criticize that, but he is actually criticizing the pork industry in doing so.
So I think it's important, Chair, to bring this back to AgriFlexibility. AgriFlexibility is targeted where it should be targeted. It is targeted to enhance productivity and innovation and to move the agricultural sector forward into the future. For this reason, AgriFlexibility should stay the way it is, and I'll be voting against the motion because of that, Chair.
Thank you.