Mr. Speaker, I am not sure if the member opposite was listening, but I explained the benefits of the changes to the act. They would benefit farmers with reduced regulation and improved protection and opportunities in agriculture in the future.
I want to address the issue that he spent the majority of his time on and that was the meeting that the minister called this week. The member is from Prince Edward Island so we would not expect him to have a clear understanding of what goes on in western Canada right now.
Last year we held a plebiscite and 62% of farmers in western Canada voted that they wanted some marketing choice with regard to barley. Since then there has been a huge shift toward support for our position, for bringing choice to farmers, particularly in dealing with barley. Not only has there been a huge shift, but there is a huge sense of urgency that something needs to be done very quickly.
This week the minister called a meeting between the barley industry and the Canadian Wheat Board. All barley industry participants were invited and they came. Wheat Board representatives came as well. The barley commissions, the barley growers, the malt industry, the Grain Growers of Canada, the brewers, the Wheat Board and three agriculture ministers from western Canadian provinces came to discuss what needed to be done in the barley industry in western Canada.
The member can afford to delay and hold this thing off, but western Canadian farmers are making their decisions about seeding intentions. They need to know what they are going to be doing this spring.
The Canadian Wheat Board is not bringing any sense of certainty to the market for western Canadian farmers. The last thing we need in western Canada is for the Wheat Board to continue to delay on this issue so farmers do not know if they should grow malt barley or not. If they make a decision to move out of malt barley, then the malt industry starts to make a decision about whether Canada is a good place to invest in the malt industry.
We need some stability in this industry and the board needs to take some leadership and make some decisions that will give farmers choice in this area. Then we can develop this industry the way it should be developed.