Mr. Chair, first of all on the blood, I have never made any statement that we would be refusing to do that. What I have said is that I need to sit down and consult with the industry.
The Americans have moved on this. We have done other issues differently than them. Our two countries are different in our responses, but in essence, we are doing effectively the same thing. We are assuring our consumers that the beef they eat is safe. We may very well move on blood, but I want to be able first to consult our interests involved.
I am not going to jump higher overnight because of the Americans, and I do not think that is the approach Canadians would want me to take. What they would want me to do is to consult with Canadians first and then sit down and work with Americans on the larger issues.
One issue which is left is the issue of SRMs in feed, and I have had an opportunity to talk with Tommy Thompson, the secretary of health in the United States, about how we might work together and coordinate our efforts in that area.
There were a number of questions with regard to compensation and transition money. I recognize that in a lot of cases there are a lot of forms to fill out. I have asked my officials to look at those to ensure that they are done as easily as possible and that we work very hard in terms of getting out these dollars as quickly as possible to the farmers who need them.
I think that is what is important, that we get dollars out on the ground because farmers certainly need those dollars now.
Let us look at the whole question of testing. Different countries do different things in different ways. Essentially what they are trying to do is regain their consumer confidence to keep those consumers on side. Japan had to do things differently. Europe had to do things differently because it had a different situation. We cannot compare the situation it had with the situation we have had here in North America. We have had two cases. The risk is different and what the international organization has said is that depending upon where the risk level is, we may need to do certain things differently.
The OIE has recognized this. It has recognized that what we are doing in Canada is what we should be doing. It made recommendations to the Government of Canada on which we are following through, and that is what is most important.
What I believe is important, and hon. members would certainly agree, is that this is an issue which should not be taken on a partisan basis and I thank those hon. members across the way who have done that. This is a serious issue to many Canadian farmers and farm families. I want to give those families the assurance tonight that the House of Commons can sit down and debate this issue in a way that looks toward solutions and not toward political gains.