Thanks for that question, Mr. Johns. I know that this is a pretty important issue for both of us.
If I can, I want to correct the record as I'm taking a quick review of some of the data we've collected here. I think I said that these activist groups had raised about $90 million in the United States last year. It's actually $900 million; I forgot a zero there. That shows what's going on.
In terms of how this protects the mental health of farmers, this is really what inspired me to do this. When I met with the farm family in my riding after this had happened to them, the looks on their faces were.... I was surprised by how hard they took this. They just didn't understand why they were targeted. They were basically saying, “What did we do wrong? We have free-range turkeys. We do everything that the CFIA has asked us. Our animals mean everything to us. In no way would we ever put them in danger.” Then I had phone calls from farmers across western Canada asking, “Is it now open season on farming?” No one was charged in this issue. I think two people out of the 40 were given a $250 fine.
Farmers just feel like they are being targeted and attacked for what they do. Are there bad actors? I'm sure there are, but the vast majority of farm families are doing everything they possibly can to protect their animals, water and soil. They just feel like there's no one out there standing up for them. I feel that something like this would show some leadership from the federal government's side that says, “Yes, we are there to protect you” and would put some parameters in place that will deter this illegal activity from happening.