Mr. Speaker, in Prince Edward Island we have a hog industry that is in very poor shape, as it is right across Canada. As was indicated earlier, we do have a supply managed system in dairy and in other areas. This is why the marketing boards were put in place in the first place. They put order into chaos. Canadian farmers are benefiting from the forethought and the planning of previous Liberal ministers in the Government of Canada.
The situation is not as difficult as it may be in areas where a supply managed program would not work. It is difficult to have a supply managed program for grains. It is a crop that relies on exports.
In this case there is a downturn because the markets for exports in grain have diminished. The demand for pork in the Asian markets has collapsed. Therefore there is a more serious problem in the western provinces than there may be in the east. There are a lot of producers in the east, in Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and in Quebec. We can look back to a few weeks ago when there were hog farmers blocking the Trans-Canada Highway.
There are problems in eastern Canada with the same commodities as there are in western Canada, even though we are more diversified. However, the west is becoming more diversified in agriculture and that is because of the programs put in place by the Liberal government.