Agriculture committee  Yes, I'm happy to continue with that. One thing that's actually been quite innovative in the last little while is a new program that a lot of the commodity boards have issued. One that we just participated in earlier this week was for a poultry producer who is a new entrant. Th

Agriculture committee  I'm happy to comment. Thank you for your question. First of all, I think the Department of Agriculture should certainly be commended for assembling this program in an expeditious fashion, with significant consultation with industry and all lenders—those represented at this table

Agriculture committee  Your deduction is quite accurate on the way the program is structured. Certainly those in my organization, and I suspect everybody at this table, have worked far too hard to earn a sterling reputation in Canadian agriculture. It's the most significant subsector we serve as an org

Agriculture committee  Farmers should be perpetually in consultation with their respective lenders on this issue. If they see that they're not getting the necessary receptivity at that level, there is certainly a conduit for them to talk to people in the Department of Agriculture. That's what I would e

Agriculture committee  I know that all of our organizations have ombudsmen. There is also an ombudsman representative for the industry. These two may be ideal conduits for them to pursue any material issues they foresee.

Agriculture committee  Speaking for my organization, I'm the national manager of agriculture, so I would certainly like to be apprised of those developments. I would encourage anybody at this table to contact me to share any findings, or even rumblings of anything like this transpiring.

Agriculture committee  Thanks for your question. First of all, I worked on a farm extensively both after high school and throughout the post-secondary degree that I did in Alberta. I then began banking in Medicine Hat and later in Olds. I have spoken at your college, and I'm familiar with it. With r

Agriculture committee  I do know that we have representatives who speak at various institutions that teach aspiring farmers about agriculture. In addition to that, we participate in the CALA program, which, of course, is a program that's now well tailored to serving aspiring farmers. Last, we're extrem

Agriculture committee  To be honest, we already treat agriculture differently, recognizing that there are many idiosyncratic aspects to the industry. Some of my colleagues alluded to special personnel, special products, and special policies tailored very well to serve that sector, recognizing there's a

Agriculture committee  I think our track record is excellent, to be truthful. The BSE crisis, of course, really exemplifies that and our willingness and understanding of the strife that occasionally occurs within the agricultural space. Through the BSE crisis, our Bank of Montreal specifically issued

Agriculture committee  There are also some other product offerings by banks that facilitate young people trying to get into agriculture. As Marion alluded to during his introductory remarks, the CALA program, of course, is the most obvious of which, that is now available to new entrants, to new farmers

Agriculture committee  My response to that is that we have not, to the best of my knowledge, engaged in policy like that. Our pricing for HILLRP has been consistently about prime plus 2% to 4%, I suspect.