Mr. Speaker, I think that is a very good question. In fact, we met with some of the packing industry the other day. I really do not believe and I do not think that the Conservative Party would encourage us to build packing and processing plants ourselves as the Government of Canada, but there certainly are programs in the country that can assist.
In fact, in the province of Prince Edward Island at the moment there is a new packing plant being built that hopefully will assist the industry. At the moment in Prince Edward Island, cattle are being shipped to Cookstown to be slaughtered; it has been mainly Ontario since the U.S. border closed. That plant is going to be available for the Atlantic Canadian industry. Certainly ACOA is helping in some respects in terms of that plant with the waste management treatment side of the plant. It is important for that to be there for the industry in its time of need.
Yes, we need a greater slaughter capacity in this country, not only for the animals under 30 months but also for the aged animals. But not only is the slaughter capacity crucial, so is opening the border, just getting that border open. I certainly congratulate the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, the Minister of International Trade, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and others for their efforts in trying to get that border open.
It is not easy dealing with the United States. The president could even be on side, but Congress and the Senate, playing political games, as they are showing they are doing, do not recognize the science and they keep the political pressure on that the border to stay closed. That is wrong for Canadian producers and I believe it is wrong for American producers as well, because we are an integrated industry and we have to get out of this dilemma together. We have a safe food supply and the Americans are going to have to recognize that.