Thank you very much, Mr. Shields.
We found that with the uncertainty around the interpretation of the regulation, farmers are finding it too risky to seed hemp and to plant hemp. CHTA has collected numerous examples of how food processors have approached Health Canada with regard to including hemp protein or hemp oil in their food formulations and have been told by Health Canada that in order to do so and to comply with the requirements for CBD, the food processors need to register under the Cannabis Act as licensed processors.
Well, they aren't intending to get into the cannabis business. They're planning to use the exempted parts of the plant—the hemp grain and the hemp stock—for their processes, but Health Canada has advised them they'd need to get licences to be part of the Cannabis Act.
Because of that risk, processors have shut down. Processors are not expanding their businesses. Other food companies are not looking at adding hemp protein, which is a fantastic protein, or hemp oil, which is a sensational functional oil, into their formulations, and as a result, we've seen our acreage drop by half and continue to drop.