No, they are not surprising.
He is the member who said, either during or prior to the emergency debate on hogs and beef that we had in February, “money is flowing as we speak”. The fact of the matter is, the money was not flowing and the member knows it.
He went on at length about putting Canadian farmers first. When the Government of Canada is allowing a regulatory regime that gives our international competitors a price advantage in the marketplace versus our own producers, is that putting Canadian farmers first? For example, the specified risk material, our inspection fees costs and our total regulatory regime, is that putting Canadian farmers first or is that putting them at a disadvantage? I would like an answer to that question.
The hon. member is the parliamentary secretary to the minister of agriculture. I proposed to him in earlier remarks, and the minister failed to respond to it, but on the circovirus question, the hog industry is in worse shape now than it was prior to the announcement, and I do not even blame the government for this part of it, I will admit, but it actually is.The prices do not look like they will be there as quickly, but the reference margins have to be made to work.
For people especially in the Ontario pork industry that I met with last weekend, who had a disease problem, and I do not want a commitment here today, although I would like one, is the government at least willing to look at factoring out that circovirus disease so that the reference margin would be there as if they would have produced normally? That would make a huge difference to producers.