Mr. Speaker, in reply to my colleague opposite concerning the creation of slaughterhouses, I wonder if it would be possible to arrange for the slaughter of our cows which sell for 7¢ each. Last week, you must have heard about a producer in the Lac-Saint-Jean area who received 7¢ for a cow.
I don't think that establishing slaughterhouses will solve the fiscal imbalance in the agriculture sector. That is my view. I said it earlier and I repeat it, the level of support for the agriculture industry has substantially diminished in Canada over the last decade, whereas our competitors have maintained it. If we had maintained it, we would probably not face the problems we have now, not only with our cull cows, but also with our beef. Our main competitors have continued their support and have even increased it.
Let us recall that at the time, the Prime Minister was Finance Minister and, hence, responsible for this significant decrease. The decrease is still there.
I do not think that building slaughterhouses is really the solution and will lower the fiscal imbalance. It may be a solution, but we should not proceed on a case-by-case basis.