Mr. Chair, the hon. member asked a couple of questions and I will make a couple of comments.
I think all members of the House will agree, and I certainly do, that agriculture in Canada is different in different parts and in different regions of the country. That is one of the reasons I suspect that constitutionally it is a shared responsibility between the federal and provincial governments.
One of the commitments I made very clearly at the federal-provincial conference that took place recently in Prince Edward Island was my willingness to work with my provincial counterparts in a way that would allows us to deal with the specific issues in different regions.
We need to understand that although we have national objectives, although we understand that it is important to achieve national results, we need to understand that oftentimes how we achieve those results may be different in different regions depending on the reality and on the challenges those particular regions face. I made that commitment to my 10 provincial colleagues and they were very accepting and very appreciative of that and very willing to work under those circumstances, including the minister from Quebec.
The hon. member is quite right. There is programming that is designed in some respects at fed and feeder cattle, cow-calf operations as well, and that the industry is larger in other parts of Canada than it is in Quebec.
In Quebec though there are specific issues that I will not say are unique to Quebec, but are very predominant in Quebec. The member points those out quite well.
I have met with Mr. Pellerin. I have met with the UPA. I have met with my provincial counterparts. As I mentioned, I have met with the Dairy Farmers of Canada. They have outlined some of those challenges. She also talked about the issue of the cull cow. She talked about the reality of the decline in price and the need to deal with that.
A number of suggestions have been made. Obviously, with the closure of the U.S. border, the ability to have greater capacity to deal with cull cows is essential. It has been pointed out, and I think with some justification, that it is not just simply a matter of capacity. It is a matter that the capacity be increased in the context of a competitive environment so there is the ability to compete back and forth so the price will find an appropriate level in the marketplace. That is one potential solution.
The idea of a floor price has been mentioned. I have indicated my willingness to look at any proposed solution. However I will be very straightforward with the hon. member. I would prefer a solution that could see the marketplace itself deliver on the appropriate price rather than having to have direct intervention into that marketplace.
I think it is possible to do but, as I have said, I will meet with the Quebec industry--dairy is beyond Quebec and so the industry that we need to deal with is beyond Quebec--and see the type of solutions we can come up with to make the effective gains for producers that the hon. member is talking about.