Agriculture committee  Okay, thank you. I don't have much time, Mr. Lawson. Could you give me an estimate? Since you represent the entire organization, do you have any sense of how many of your members are opposed to or in favour of the bill?

Agriculture committee  Thank you. I wanted to clarify that. We've also heard, over the course of testimony on this very important bill, that there are different conclusions being drawn by people regarding animal welfare and the impact the transport of horses has on animal welfare. I'd like to point out that there is evidence, and then there are conclusions.

Agriculture committee  Right. You've represented that all 7,000 veterinarians who are part of your group are opposed to this bill. Is that correct?

Agriculture committee  Okay. Thank you. You mentioned that you think many of the veterinarians who work with the industry are inclined to support this continued practice because it has to do with the provision of food. The majority of the horses that are transported to Japan are for food purposes. It's providing something called basashi, which is a very high-end, very gourmet type of product that is valued greatly.

Agriculture committee  [Inaudible—Editor]

Agriculture committee  Thank you very much.

Agriculture committee  Thank you very much, Chair, and thank you to all the witnesses for being here. There is clearly a difference of opinion on whether the welfare of horses is actually endangered in the transport or whether these horses are stressed. We heard the opinions, which were put forward as facts, but since there are many different opinions on this, I'm wondering whether perhaps, Dr.

Agriculture committee  My daughter is an equestrian, and I'm very familiar with horses. I rode as well. They are very sensitive. As well, you pointed out that the centre of gravity is higher for these animals. How do you reconcile what you have seen and heard with the witness we just heard from, who clearly stated one thing—that horses being transported for show are treated the same as horses being transported for slaughter.

Agriculture committee  Thank you. I think there have been comments made that the regulations in place.... “We're in accordance with the regulations.” I think that's questionable. Even if that's the case, as you said, we're not compliant with the OIE and other standards. If that's the case, I feel it's incumbent upon us to look after the welfare of these animals.

Agriculture committee  Thank you very much.

Agriculture committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Thank you to all of the witnesses for being here. Thank you, Ms. Mitchell, for being here in person. I'm sorry I'm not there today. I want to go back to some things that have been stated as fact. My daughter is an equestrian and is familiar with both racetracks and the competitive world.

Agriculture committee  Thank you, Ms. Curry. How about you, Ms. McLearon? I've never seen it in my experience, but mine is limited to my daughter's world. I'm sure you've seen a lot more.

Agriculture committee  That's great. Thank you very much. There seems to be this concentration on the standards being the same. We understand that the standards are the same. I think the question is whether the standards are humane for the transport of a companion animal, a very sensitive and sentient animal, that is being transported to their death.

Agriculture committee  Thank you very much. I will now switch to English. We hear a lot about some of the programs we have in place to combat climate change. The articles I've read and the people I've spoken to have said that climate change is actually a major factor in food price inflation. I'm wondering if you've heard the same.

Agriculture committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Minister, thank you for being here today to discuss our progress in the fight against food inflation. I also want to thank you for everything you have done to date to stabilize grocery prices. We know that food inflation has dropped since you met with Canada's major grocery chains.