Agriculture committee  I went to our local MPP, and we have put together a petition and a letter-writing campaign that is going to Leona Dombrowski, the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. That has been on the go now for about two months, and we have very good support from our MPP, Dave Le

Agriculture committee  Yes, I did. The difference isn't because one buys federal or provincial. The difference really comes in with the fact that small butcher shops such as ours--and from what I hear, the one belonging to the gentleman beside me as well--do curing, smoking, and cooking. Once you get i

Agriculture committee  I think that's maybe on the federal level, but at our level it's only increasing.

Agriculture committee  That took place about a year and a half or two years ago.

Agriculture committee  Basically, I would suggest that there be a different set of licences for different operations. If you're just selling out of your own location, you'd probably be dealt with totally differently from how you'd be dealt with if you were shipping all over the province. And somewhere

Agriculture committee  I think, if you look back, you'll find that small meat shops such as ours have always provided top-quality food. What's happening here is that, you're right, the CFIA starts it, and it's gone down the line; everybody needs to meet the same requirements. How do we do that? I think

Agriculture committee  We might get there. The decision we're wrestling with currently, even though we enjoy our work and had hoped to pass it on to our son, is either to change the nature of our business or simply close it altogether. If this happens, there would be one less butcher shop on the map.

Agriculture committee  Just so you all know, I've never met these gentlemen before this afternoon. They're reading off the same book and I don't know why I should speak. I have 10 minutes and I'm going to use all of it, so get ready. Good afternoon to you all. Thank you for providing me the opportunit