Madam Chair, I will be sharing my time this evening with the members for Bourassa and St. Paul's.
I might just say to begin with, on the issue related to market access and market development, that the important effort on behalf of Canada in this regard did not just begin in the last year or two or three. The minister might want to look at the important history of his department and the work of veteran public servants, such as Michelle Comeau and Michael Gifford and a range of others, who have given Canada a great foundation upon which to build in terms of access to markets around the world.
Tonight I want to especially ask the minister about the PFRA, the Prairie Farmer Rehabilitation Administration. Established in 1935 and headquartered in Regina, PFRA became and remains the single most successful and most respected agency of the Government of Canada in the west. Its expertise was second to none in soil conservation, water supply systems, irrigation, flood protection, pasture management, shelter belts, ground cover, community development and much more. It was hands on and it was trusted.
Largely now, unfortunately, it is over. PFRA no longer exists as a stand-alone entity within the Government of Canada. Its name has been abolished and it is now folded into some other branch of the Department of Agriculture.
I would like to ask the minister, why was PFRA killed?