Madam Speaker, first, I would like to invite my colleague to maybe ask a question of members affected by this regional issue. I do know all the details. However, everything is not negative; some good things have happened that have gone beyond the merely local.
In my region, we are affected by serious crises, such as the softwood lumber dispute. To solve this problem, the government only had to give not grants, but loan guarantees to businesses to help them modernize their equipment, during the settlement of the dispute with the United States. The same thing could have been done with respect to mad cow disease. Recently, a farmer in our region got 7 cents for a 2,000 pound cow worth, at the very least, close to $1,000.
This problem will not be solved unless the Liberal government does something. What we need is programs. We have equalization payments and other ways to help communities that are having trouble. This is the whole idea of democracy and of paying taxes and putting them in a big pot to help these communities.