Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you again to our guests here today.
Just to touch on your comment about education, Luke, there is a farm program available to schools but they have a choice of whether to present it or not. I'm not sure further strengthening that to implement it would help in our case as far as helping people to understand.
I can remember starting in our family business with my father. At that time, a lot of young guys my age were getting into that business. We probably couldn't have done it without the help of our families and the strength of the company at the time.; it's so important. One thing I do remember about it is that we were facing 14%, 15%, 18% interest rates. Things were a real challenge. It would have been very easy--very easy--for me and my brothers to have just thrown up our hands and walked away. In fact, there were probably several times where we sat down and decided that was what we should do, then slept on it and said we would keep plowing ahead.
So I am very conscious of the challenges that young people have getting into business, be it agriculture or be it in any other type. We were in agricultural machinery, so we were very reliant on the farm gate.
The thing I am hearing...and I'm not trying to ignore the other guests, but Luke and Gwen, you are the future, and I believe that. Whatever is in front of you, you have to deal with that and move forward. I would have to disagree with other statements that....
You know, we can look back forever, but if we don't look ahead and start planning and addressing those issues as they come to us, we are going to be forever looking backwards. I think that's what has happened in a lot of industries in the last several years.
If the government came to you today--obviously you're young, you've started, and you understand some of the challenges, probably a lot of them--and there was one change we could make in policy, just one change that would benefit you personally, and probably everybody in your generation, what would that be?
Gwen.