No problem, Mr. Chair.
I'm going to begin with just an observation. I know our panel of witnesses are all from agricultural stakeholder groups, and my riding is 100% urban—it's a city riding—but the issues really are no different with so many other types of small businesses. Much of this just translates straight across the board to the family restaurant, the family small manufacturing operation and all kinds of family operations.
With that, I'll turn to Mr. Harpe, who spoke quite a bit about the nature of being in business as a family and the extent to which one's entire life's financial plan toward a comfortable, secure retirement is tied up in the fortune of the business and in the family's capital in the business. A farmer, a restauranteur, a manufacturing operation proprietor or a fishing boat operator isn't generally best advised to take money and profit from the business and invest it outside of the business. Sometimes it's just not a possibility and sometimes it's not prudent.
Mr. Harpe, coming from the point of view of a family business operator—the business being a farm—I'd like you to give us this perspective on the extent to which the capital is always tied up in the business asset.