Thank you.
I'd like to ask a question to the Canadian Bankers Association about the hog industry loan-loss reserve program, or HILLRP for short. I'll just explain to my colleagues how this program works. It was established to help the pork industry deal with immediate short-term cashflow pressure by converting short-term loans into long-term loans—basically 10- to 15-year loans. It was established in 2009, and I think all loans have to be repaid by 2025. So we're still in the early stages of the program.
When a farmer took a loan from a financial institution, for example, a bank, the bank would place a portion of that loan into a reserve account and the government would backstop the loan. I think in the first three years it was up to 90%; from three years to six years it was 80%; and from six years to the remainder of the loan it was 70% if there was a default on that loan.
There's a concern, particularly in Manitoba, that because the loss coverage is declining—especially at the three-year mark that is coming up in the next nine months or so—banks might call in some of these loans, because they're better protected by the government's backstop of that loan.
Can you comment and share your thoughts on this?