Mr. Chair, I spent a good amount of time in Algoma and northern Ontario and I appreciate the challenges the producers face in that part of Ontario. I am as committed to them as I am to producers everywhere in Canada to working with them to deal with the issues.
I do not know if I fully agree with everything the hon. member said, and that probably comes as no surprise. I know that his determination and commitment is certainly genuine.
I believe there has been a lot of work done to date. Has it solved all of the problems and dealt with all of the issues? No, but there have been close to $2 billion committed specifically to BSE and much of it has been delivered.
We are dealing with issues in this package in terms of trying to build increased slaughter capacity and trying to ensure that we have a wider range of an international market, not simply that of the United States. We are working to restore that market as well. We are trying to bring some rationality to the marketplace so producers can make some business decisions based on some certainty. As I said the beginning of the debate, we trying to ensure, beyond all else, that our producers can operate profitably so they can continue to do historically what they have always done in the country, which is to contribute to a secure, safe food supply for all Canadians. All of us, no matter where we live, owe a great debt to our producers.
As I mentioned to the hon. critic from the Bloc, there are specific issues in respect of cull cows in the dairy industry. I have said that I met with a number of individuals, including the hon. member, to talk about this issue. There are component parts and additional issues that we need to deal with specifically in that respect. I have made a commitment to deal with producers, members in the House, the industry and the provinces to address those issues.
The member and the entire House has my commitment in that respect. We will work on that.