Thank you.
As a former farmer—although you never stop being a farmer—I do believe that family farm succession is one of the most pressing issues in the agriculture industry today. There are real people behind these things.
My husband and I had five kids, and they literally grow from the ground up learning the farm and how it works. My son was four years old when a sales guy came to the greenhouse, and he said to the sales guy, “What's all that junk in the back of your truck?” The sales guy was like, “Oh, man, I know this is going to be tough sale.” These kids learn this; this is part of who they are.
My son has now taken over the business, which is phenomenal, and he's very involved in the community. Recently, our local firemen did a big gala fundraiser for the hospital. I know even Elections Canada has talked to him about using one of the greenhouses for a polling station, so we must be coming to an election pretty soon.
My concern is that there is no level playing field for parents like ourselves to pass this on to our kids. I'm wondering if you could perhaps speak, Mr. Branden Leslie, about the impact that selling to foreigners has on our communities. What happens in a community when the farm leaves the family?