Mr. Chair, of course I agree with my colleague. I believe that the opening of the U.S. border is or at least should be a short term solution. We should never get back to the situation where we are so dependent on the United States. Every producer I have spoken to has said that we could probably have seen this coming because we basically had all our eggs in one basket. And when we drop the basket, all the eggs get broken.
What we need now is more slaughter capacity. There are several proposals out there for a sort of modified co-op slaughtering plant, whereby producers could have equity in the plant. They could buy equity with cash, although probably none of them have cash, or they could buy equity in the plant with their livestock and actually have a share in the plant so that when prices do resume they would not all flee that plant. I think that has potential, but it is in the long term. If a shovel were to go into the ground today, it would be 18 months before the plant would be operating. Part of the reason for that delay, or part of the excuse, I should say, is that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency makes these plants jump through so many hoops. That whole process should be and could be expedited.