Agriculture committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Minister MacAulay, for being here this morning. It's always a pleasure to see you. I'm sure that in 35 years of service you've gone through many of these. I was just reflecting, as I was hearing some of the questions, that one member is saying we're not ambitious enough and need to do more to change, while another member is saying we can't change, because this will cripple our industry.

Agriculture committee  Okay. Then it's not a matter of not having a place to safely stop and take care of the animals.

Agriculture committee  No, I mean a rest stop like yours, a rest stop for food and water. I'm not talking about the ones where there might be problems with public image or perception.

Agriculture committee  That's right, but we know that things go wrong. They always have, and that hasn't changed. Both of you have talked about many instances in the past of things going wrong. I understand that the truckers and companies are planning for that, but sometimes there are unforeseen circumstances.

Agriculture committee  Do you think that having more rest stops along the route would in fact help address this problem?

Agriculture committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Thank you to the witnesses for being here and filling in some of the on-road and off-road experiences, and thanks also to the other committee members who have highlighted these difficulties. My understanding is that these difficulties, these challenges, have always existed.

Agriculture committee  Okay. The regulations were always there, and these issues were not raised as a problem before. Why is that?

Agriculture committee  Basically, it was the record-keeping. People could put different things in if they wanted to and not really write down all the same hours that they were.... There was more flexibility in paper record-keeping than there is with the ELDs.

Agriculture committee  Okay. A number of things have been raised in terms of the challenges in meeting these regulations. My understanding is that these were put in for the safety of the drivers, the ones you're talking about with the ELDs that we're discussing right now. It's for the safety of the drivers.

Agriculture committee  Okay, so—

Agriculture committee  No, I don't think that's the point. I think the point is the number of hours that somebody drives. Insurance companies are concerned because the statistics would show that there are more accidents when people are driving for 19 hours a day versus 12 or 13 hours a day. Even though insurance companies are doing this for monetary reasons, it is the safety that is underlying it.

Agriculture committee  There are two little ones. Okay. Do you think there are enough rest stops for the truckers to be able to get the rest that they need and also for the animal welfare so that the animals have the stops they require?

Agriculture committee  Got it. Why do you think there aren't more rest stops, then, if this seems to be a major issue in the planning of the trips or with unforeseen circumstances that make them unable to get to the rest stops that they should be at?

Agriculture committee  No, but why aren't there more rest stops like yours? How is it funded?

Agriculture committee  The truckers or the companies are paying you for the service.