Thank you, Chair.
I thank the guests for coming, especially my neighbours from P.E.I. I'm on the neighbouring island of Cape Breton, where we can see you on a clear day.
I am concerned about the genetically modified fish, but that's not what my question is about. I'm concerned that if they get loose, they're going to come over to our island, because the Atlantic wild salmon is very important to us.
Our committee travelled to P.E.I. and I know a lot of farmers there. I was hoping that the salmon would stay GMO-free, not because I'm against GMOs totally. I'm looking more at the market, and I see P.E.I. as being at a bit of a disadvantage, because of the transportation and input and selling costs, because you're in a bit of a remote area. But being on an island like that, I think you have a great opportunity to control how your food is being produced.
You're sitting right next to a very large market, North America really, and you have a port there in Charlottetown. You could be shipping more organic and GMO-free product, or whatever, to the European market.
We visited your killing plant, and it does quite a job there. With all the concerns, especially in the U.S., there is not only a move towards organic food but also towards a market for beef that does not have hormones in it. There's an interest now in grass-fed beef. I see all these opportunities that P.E.I. could have with those big markets, but also from looking at more of a niche market.
I don't know whether or not they'll ever switch over or whether organic potatoes would be the answer, but I definitely see the opportunity with grass-fed beef. Grass grows very well. You don't have to irrigate in P.E.I. and I see that plant there. In the future you'll see on the market shelves of Loblaws and Walmart this grass-fed beef, because people will go for it.
So how do you make that happen? I guess you people would say that you failed in that first round of trying to be GMO-free. Does it have to be provincially led by your own government? Can the federal government get involved a bit, or should we have programs that are going to enhance...? And there I just look at the grass-fed beef, because on our farm we have grass-fed beef and we ship it to your plant, but we just don't get the money for it. We get less money than they get for a steer that's produced out west.
How can we get around that? How should the federal government be encouraging and helping the farmers? Is it on the marketing side? Is it on the production side? Is it classification? Should there be more people going on trade missions?
I see great potential in P.E.I. that way, because your isolation could give you an advantage. Could you comment on that? How can the federal government help you more?