Madam Speaker, at the beginning of the agriculture critic's speech she outlined some of the facts as they really exist. I cannot understand why she did not stay on that vein throughout her remarks. We are dealing with a serious problem and I cannot understand what purpose it serves to get into political rhetoric and basically provide misinformation to the farm community on some of the existing programs.
The minister is going to meet with the cattle industry in Alberta on Thursday. He has said that we need to look at other things we could do as a result of the border closing. Members on the other side should be admitting up front that the repositioning strategy is having some impact. In her own remarks the member said that slaughter capacity has increased.
I want to ask the member a question with respect to the loan loss reserve. She said it does not exist. Nothing could be further from the truth. Obviously members of the Conservative Party do not know how a loan loss program works. Money does not need to be spent right away on a loan loss reserve program. A proposal from proponents of a beef slaughter plant would go to a lending institution, and as the minister announced today, they can now go to Farm Credit Canada as well. They would bring forward a proposal, which would be analyzed on its commercial merits. The loan loss reserve would backstop the loan with the lending institution. This would give that plant a better opportunity to get off the ground and succeed in terms of the slaughter industry.
I have a couple of simple questions for the member. Is that not true? Is that not how the loan loss reserve program works? Does it not have merit in terms of increasing slaughter capacity and giving producers the opportunity to build their own plants? Let us have a little--