Mr. Speaker, I listened with interest to the speech by the member opposite. He knows, of course, that this is an emergency debate, that livestock producers are looking for immediate assistance, hence the term “emergency”. The phrasing “long term” is really not why we are here tonight. We are here to talk about short term, immediate relief for a sector which is in very difficult straits.
I would like to ask the member if he is hearing from his producers what I am hearing, which is that feed prices are so high that hog farmers cannot pay their feed bills, that the government, in the view of producers in my riding, is doing nothing to allow hog farmers to access loans, and that the present restrictions stop producers from getting money out of any government programs. That is what I am hearing from many in my riding.
I will ask the member opposite to comment not on long term solutions, which will be talked about another day, but on an immediate short term basis, what does the government intend to do for producers who are facing very difficult times right now?