Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I would like to thank all the witnesses for being here and for helping guide our committee through this study.
Ms. Pfenning, I would like to start with you and the National Farmers Union.
It is a fact that extreme weather events driven by climate change are going to come with more frequency and more severity in our future. We know that farmers are on the front lines of that. I have spent six years on this committee and I have often heard farmers say that they are on the front lines of climate change.
There are some particularly worrisome trends coming our way. I know there is a lot of concern on the Prairies for this upcoming summer because of low snowpacks and precipitation levels.
I have always had my work on this committee guided by the theme of establishing resiliency. I know farmers are very wary of an “Ottawa knows best” approach, but there are farmers who are showing us the way. I think it's the job of this committee and indeed of all parliamentarians to find those farmers who are leading the way, put them up on a pedestal and help them spread the knowledge.
I was very taken by your mention of a Canadian farm resilience agency. Would you mind expanding a little on that? How do you think this committee should tailor its recommendation to that effect?