Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Cypress Hills—Grasslands for his hard work on the agriculture committee and also for serving as the wheat board critic.
We recognize the concerns of Canadians, western Canadians, rural Canadians, especially in my riding where there is a huge drought.
There are individuals in my riding who believe in the principle of freedom, the freedom to market their grain and the freedom to sell to whomever they would choose. There are a number of my constituents who may be facing shackles and may be willing to pay the price because of the freedom that they believe in.
In Alberta a very select number of people have been brought into Edmonton to speak about the Kyoto accord, not the openness and transparency that the government had promised, not the consulting of the public that the government had promised, not the grassroots individuals coming forward that the government had promised.
On the other hand, with the agriculture committee, was it that same kind of consultation? Did it meet with the public? If it did indeed meet with the public across western Canada, why then would the government try to hold back and suppress the very report that a true consultative process undertook?
Why is it the government is so afraid to give people and western Canadians the right to their livelihood and the right to market the grain as they would see fit?