Mr. Speaker, I am a city boy. I was practically born on the sidewalk. Many urbanites across Canada are very sensitive to the plight of agriculture, because we are generally proud of our farm community. In Quebec, we are proud of the quality of our dairy products and the diversity that has developed. In addition, while we are still very fond of Alberta beef, we find it very unfair that a single case of mad cow disease discovered two years ago in Alberta had such a dramatic impact on rural life.
There are some things, however, that we do not understand and that the hon. member could perhaps explain to us.
Could he tell me and other urbanites like me how a floor price works? Would it actually work if only one province had a floor price? Does the federal government need the consent of all the provinces to set a floor price? Would such a floor price represent significant costs to the government? Will it really save the rural community, whom, once again, we greatly appreciate even when we were born and raised in a Canadian city?