Mr. Chair, what would make this side significantly more comfortable is to have an official invite by the minister and then an expectation of what specifically he would like us to undertake, so that we're not just doing busy work.
We want the assurance that we're actually doing something constructive and that the minister then would be willing to take to the table. Frankly, if he's asking us to consult with agricultural experts across the country and farm families across the country, I'm really excited about that if it will improve Growing Forward 3.
But if we are simply engaging in busy work, the first official meetings are in June, but the negotiations have long been started, so the provinces are at the table. They know what they want. The Minister of Agriculture knows what he wants out of this. The finance minister will have said how much money he's going to be allocated.
I would be interested in what specifically the minister is looking at from our committee. If the parliamentary secretary could bring that to this committee, we could then be more comfortable as to what exactly he was looking for from us, and that it's an assurance that it's not simply busy work, but it's actually going to be a constructive supplement to the negotiations.
I'm very happy to be part of that discussion, but I need the assurance from the minister that we're being invited to do this, and that what we find and what we work through will in fact be utilized by the minister to improve the program.