Mr. Speaker, reports now indicate that the U.S. border may stay closed to Canadian beef for 18 months or more. It is time to act. The CAIS program does not work. The loan loss reserve program is a farce. It is non-existent and has not contributed one iota to increase slaughter capacity.
It is past time that the government used money from the budget contingency fund to open new packing facilities now.
Will the minister commit to making the funds available for slaughter facilities and will he do it today?