Thank you, Mr. Chair.
This is to any member of the panel. The farmers and industry representatives--some of whom came before the working group and worked with the working group and some of whom have come before our committee--have expressed concern that in the absence of action on the rail service review, getting crops to their ultimate point of destination is going to be problematic. Gordon, you're kind of nodding your head right now confirming that.
The clout that the Canada Wheat Board provides gives farmers the edge as far as most of us are concerned--not all of us. I'm concerned about what sort of transportation infrastructure vacuum will exist once the Canada Wheat Board is dismantled.
Before you answer that, I'll tell you why that question arises. I noticed in a lot of the recommendations from the report of the working group that the market forces should be given every opportunity to take effect. Then you refer to the Competition Act and the Competition Bureau as being a tool at the disposal of the minister to deal with it. Well, I'll tell you, any farmer who has come before our committee has basically said that Canada's Competition Act is probably the most ineffective piece of legislation any country in the world has in dealing with uncompetitive behaviour.
Frankly, I would challenge any of you--I'd welcome any of you, frankly, to explain to me where they've stepped in on behalf of farmers in the last three or four years and helped them either with respect to rail transport or anything else. Farmers have come to us and said that the rail cars have holes in them and they're losing their grain. And the rail companies have no concern whatsoever about the loss of the grain. In fact they feel it's the farmers' responsibility and will show up when they bloody well feel like showing up to get their grain cars.
So I don't have the confidence in the Competition Act or the Competition Bureau that many of you have. How is that vacuum going to be addressed in this legislation?