Split my time with Mr. Petit.
I have one quick question, and if you'll indulge me, Mr. Chair, I'd just like to talk to the senator as one farm boy to another, if that's okay.
I certainly appreciate your bill. With my experience, Senator, as a farm boy and as a cattle farmer, I can see there is one change here. You've actually broadened the scope for which charges can be laid for offences against cattle, which means that where before there was only an indictable offence, it changes it to a hybrid. I know from my time serving in law enforcement that a law enforcement officer only has the ability to either lay the charge or not lay the charge, and the judgment they have therein is usually based on the nature of the penalty and whether the penalty would suit the charge.
What I'm concerned about here is this. I'm wondering, now that the hybrid offence is there for the section dealing specifically with cattle, if you had any representation concerning an increased number of charges for relatively minor offences involving cattle that will result in summary conviction penalties being applied to farmers. From my perspective, some of those cases may appear to be just one more onerous problem for cattle ranchers to overcome. I'm wondering if you could comment on that.