Thanks.
I have questions both to CFIA and to the department. I'll start with the department.
I've travelled in the Interlake area of Manitoba in Arborg and across the border into Saskatchewan, and it is an absolute disaster for the third year in a row--the fourth in some areas. They've had in excess of 57 inches of rain.
Clearly what they're saying is that AgriStability is not working because of declining margins, especially in the cow-calf sector. They feel they're entirely left out of the AgriRecovery program. When I was there, it was Thanksgiving weekend, and even the hay—it had been dry for two weeks, so they were taking off some hay—was first-crop hay on Thanksgiving weekend. It is of such poor quality, in fact, that in the last week or two some of their cattle have had health problems as a result.
Basically, they're saying none of the suite of programs is working for them. They haven't been paid through AgriStability since 2008. These folks are in very serious trouble. There is foot rot in cattle. Even the pastures are ruined. The feedlots are swamped. Is the government considering anything to assist those producers beyond the current suite of programs? Or is there any way you can adapt the suite of programs to work?
We've maintained that the government missed the opportunity last year. You could have changed the viability test. You could have changed how margins are calculated. You actually could have gotten some money out to producers rather than just giving them loans. What is being considered for that area and the trouble it's in?