Good morning.
My name is Brian Bennett. I work in a dairy plant here in Halifax. There's been a lot of talk about auto and everything else, but I just want to let you know that dairy is all across the country. We all drink milk and eat cheese and yogourt.
One of the main things I want to ask is why this government would want to support a deal brokered by Ed Fast and Stephen Harper and his cronies. I have no idea why you would want to do that. That's number one.
We really feel under threat here in Atlantic Canada. We're under threat from Quebec and Ontario. We got bought out here three years ago by a company called Agropur. They're always coming down and telling us, you know, this plant is more efficient than that one, or this one's going to close. I can guarantee you that there'll be fewer of us working, especially if they open up the borders to more cheese and whatever. That means we'll be processing less milk, which means fewer jobs.
The big picture is this: yes, the farmers will get compensated for their lost quota for a little bit, but I can guarantee you that it will be the end of the rural farms here in Atlantic Canada. We're all scared. This is unquestionably a 100% bad deal for Atlantic Canada and all of Canada.
That's all I have to say.