It really depends on where we're looking.
Quebec has taken the lead on this recently, four years ago, by not letting agricultural producers use class I antimicrobials anymore—the antimicrobials that need to be reserved for human infections—and that is working very well. The agricultural sector has adapted well to this, and we really see results of that.
I think we need to look at that, and there is a role for provincial governments in that.
We know that the use of antimicrobials in animals has an effect on antimicrobial resistance in animals and in people; however, we don't know how that actually goes from animals to people. Farmers need to be convinced that this really is the case. It's not in animal products. We know that in milk and in meat, that doesn't play a role. We think that water and the air will play a role there, but if we want to convince the agricultural commodities to really play a big role....
I must say that the poultry industry and also to a bit of a lesser extent, the swine industry, have already done that, but we need more data and knowledge to convince them.
