Madam Speaker, let me applaud the member for Drummond for her presentation and representation of the real situation in her riding. Her comments demonstrate that this is not just a beef cattle, western Canada problem. This is an agricultural problem across the country.
Very little has been said about milk producers, the dairy industry. It has the same problem right now. The problem is the border is closed. What does the dairy industry do with its old cows? Normally the old cows would be shipped down to the United States for cheaper cuts of meat. Right now there is absolutely no market. It is the same thing with the old cows in the beef industry.
Further, not only has it affected the dairy industry in a similar manner that it has affected the beef industry, but because the borders are closed, the people who raise buffalo or bison have the same problem. The people who raise domesticated elk have the same problem. The sheep industry has the same problem. People who raise goats have the same problem. It just goes on and on.
It is not about all the billions of dollars that the Liberals tell us they are putting into funds to help people. The fact is that people who want help are not getting the help. That is the question the Liberals have to answer. If they were doing such a great job, people would not be asking where is the money. People are going broke. They are pleading for their livelihood. That is the issue today.
The member for Drummond indicated that yesterday the provincial ag ministers met with the federal minister to talk about funding. In fact the federal ag minister has always said it should be a 60-40 split on the BSE crisis. To date, the federal government has only committed $276 million, while the BSE affected provinces have contributed over $350 million. That is a fact. That came out of yesterday's meeting. How can the provinces get the federal government to really provide the help the people in this country need?