First, let's look at the small number of farmers in this country who are producing most of the food. It's a fragile number and they're not producing it on a whim and a whistle and a theme of just wanting to go out in the morning and do a few things. They have to produce it using resources, financial resources on a large scale. They have to manage large amounts of farm machinery, and now manage people who are going to run that farm, because they're too busy managing the farm. They require lots of skill sets, and to do that they need capital, opportunities, and financial resources. That is the situation today. It's not as if it's something brand new.
The other thing in the case of the United States, New Zealand, and others is whether they have the capacity to make the products come into Canada. We do not see the New Zealand dairy industry as being all hot and bothered about moving into Canada to take over our entire markets, since they have great opportunities elsewhere and have constraints on their capacity. Americans have constraints on their capacity, as we do. There is only so much room to move.
We don't see this as the end of the small farmers. We see this as a reshuffling. A number of farmers will, as they have done since the post-war era, go out of business. But some of the policies actually encourage the use of land and resources in some enterprises that are no longer as viable.
My colleague beside me is an excellent example of a smaller operation growing up to be a reasonable size, and of being cooperative and different. The Government of Canada and the provinces allow for this. So how do we best encourage this? I have colleagues on both ends of the table. It's their programming and their efforts, and they're working primarily with farmers. But how do others work best in this marketplace, given that there are a certain number of safety nets and other activities, to be competitive locally and globally?