Thank you all for being here.
I have five questions. I'll just throw them at you, and if we don't have time to answer them in the five minutes, perhaps I could get a written response at your convenience.
First, some farmers in my area are concerned about the potential of market harm with the GMO Arctic apple. I've written to the minister about that. What will the department do respecting the Union of B.C. Municipalities' motion asking to put a stop to the release of this apple into the environment, with its potential harm to our fruit growers, both organic and non-organic?
The second question concerns GMO alfalfa. What will the government's response be should Monsanto decide to proceed with registration of GMO alfalfa varieties, in light of the fact that there doesn't seem to be a need for it by farmers?
The third one concerns the somewhat controversial two-year rat study by Séralini in France that found significant evidence of harm after a diet of GM corn. I know that our government is looking into that. I'm not sure if it's Health Canada or CFIA. What is the status of the investigation of that particular study?
My fourth question is this: can the CFIA provide the committee with a report breaking down the money spent to inspect the operation and infrastructure at horse slaughter plants as well as border inspection systems and operations required to monitor the transport of U.S. horses into Canada for the purposes of horse slaughter for human consumption? In other words, what funding has been allocated? Can we see what funding has been allocated to this inspection?
The last question is about a comment the minister made in regard to CETA. There's some concern by farmers that UPOV 91 may be adopted, which cranks this up a bit more, with a potential loss of seed control to farmers.
Those are my questions. I would appreciate some answers, either now or later.
Thank you.