Mr. Speaker, I have been badly misunderstood. I do not condemn the minister for not being here but rather for being here at this time. I condemn him for not having taken three hours of his time today to go and meet the producers in Quebec City. It was his duty to go there today. And he could have been back here on time.
I was my party's agriculture critic under the former agriculture minister, and I remember going with him to meet producers in Montreal, and we were back on time for question period. This minister could have done that, but he was too afraid to go to Quebec City. He has disappointed the farmers, and they will certainly not forget.
How much is the farm industry worth? Is it possible to put a dollar value on an industry that is feeding the Canadian people? We should help this industry in a time of crisis. It is a good investment.