Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I appreciate the ministers being here on this very important issue. I can tell you that my producers in Alberta are seized with this. Its urgency cannot be overstated. As my colleague said, many of them are heading to the fields in the next couple of weeks.
I just want to mention something to Minister Carr. I know you said that you're waiting for the Chinese to make a statement on this and that this is a scientific issue. China's foreign ministry spokesperson, Geng Shuang, has already said, when asked if this is connected to Meng's arrest and Huawei, that that is a scientifically sound and reasonable question and that “the Canadian side should take some concrete measures to correct its previous mistakes”. That is his quote. China is admitting this is a political issue. I'm hoping that the government is dealing with that, as well as the science side of it. We have to understand the reality we're faced with here.
I wanted to ask a question of both ministers—whoever can answer. There were 23 million acres of canola planted in 2018. As I said, our growers are at home making some very difficult decisions right now. Do they plant canola? Many of them have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on their input costs. They've bought the seed and they've bought the fertilizer.
Yes or no? Should these producers plant canola this season or should they be looking at something else?