First, we were talking about debt, and I said it was considerably exacerbated in areas by weather. The whole question of the current financial situation, as I alluded to, was a series of events that have created it, so I'd like to put that in proper context. In my mind it's important.
We recognize that improving the value that farmers and ranchers receive for their livestock is ultimately going to be the most important thing that will turn the situation around for producers across this country.
The various parts in there...there are people in New Brunswick who face very serious weather-related.... It doesn't mean everybody else has had an easy time either, and we don't want to create the impression that it's just purely weather-related. We fully understand and have talked about a whole range of things that have impacted on the ability of our industry to remain viable.
As we move forward we believe that concentrating on those things that can generate more value back, reduce some of the costs in our industry, and at the same time have adequate safety nets in place to deal with the current situation are all parts that need to be examined here. We've indicated we aren't satisfied.
I don't think you can put all that blame at the federal government's doorstep. We've been at a number of federal-provincial meetings, and a number of provinces have actively worked against the recommendations our industry and the pork industry have put forward. I think we need to find a better way of getting those various processes to work and address these real changes that need to be made. There's enough frustration to go around in terms of where the problem has been in fixing these programs. We've been advocating significant change for two years, and we are obviously frustrated when we see another provincial program put in place that creates a greater regional disparity across the country.