Mr. Chair, the hon. member is absolutely correct. It is not just the producers who are affected by this. A wide range of people across our country are affected such as producers of farm magazines, people in feed shops, people from whom farmers buy their clothes, their shoes and their groceries. It affects the people from whom producers want to buy a new car but cannot. It even affects whether or not their sons or daughters can take piano lessons. It affects whether or not someone can afford to compete to become the rodeo princess. This comes down to the very fundamentals of life and luxuries.
Everyone within these communities is affected. They are mainly small communities where people depend upon one another. The largest producer of income in the area is the cattle producer or the other ruminant producers. They feed the economy of small businesses, the service businesses, in the area. Everyone is affected by this. It is a loss of income of over $2 billion to the beef industry. It is a gross understatement of the impact that this crisis is having on our country.