Mr. Speaker, it is appropriate that the first member's statement of the new Parliament be on the tragedy which is BSE.
I urge the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food to remember beef and other ruminant farmers who are still suffering from the closure of the U.S. border as a result of BSE.
One cow, which did not get into the food chain, caused the U.S. border to be closed to Canadian products. Now one cow with BSE in the United States has further complicated things.
The government did well in getting the border open to some meat exports but the export of live animals from Canada to the U.S. is still embargoed.
This is a very tough winter for beef and other farmers and those associated with their industry.
Although hundreds of millions of dollars have been put into relief programs, the only solution to the problem is to open the border.
I urge the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and the Prime Minister himself to keep this file active until the Canada-U.S. border is fully opened.