Thank you.
I'd like to put out there that this is not a subject matter that I'm an expert in. I know from speaking with my colleagues and our members that the role of the CFIA in food safety has gained prominence in recent years, largely because of an increased level of attention on where our food comes from for the Canadian consumer and from the expert side. Our members have certainly seen impacts of cuts to the CFIA, and that has put constraints on the system's ability to continue to meet the increasing demands being placed on it from this increased interest from consumers.
We haven't highlighted it as a priority for this budget, but we do wish to see continued investment placed into the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the role they play in maintaining Canada's current position as a high-quality provider of food to the world and as a safe and effective system. We do not believe there's any reason that the current decline in investments has posed any questions as to the capacity of our system as it stands, in terms of its ability to ensure safe food for Canadians and for export. At the same time, we believe that with the increased prominence of social licence and food safety issues in the consumers' attention there will be a need for increased investment moving forward.