Agriculture committee  Let me add that our interests are also the interests of the farmers and the processors, and it's been a difficult challenge for us, with all due respect to that sector, to get them to understand that. There are a lot of opportunities that exist between the on-farm sector and the

Agriculture committee  The Interac thing just came up a couple of weeks ago, to come back to your question. That was basically their view. They didn't say what recommendation they were going to make with respect to the Interac application to the tribunal, but definitely the view from that meeting--and

Agriculture committee  We agree, and that's what Mr. Scott said earlier about having exceptions to the fidelity agreements that take into account some of the regional demand. Maple syrup is an example. We agree with you. Let's flip the coin. Let's make the fidelity agreement.... That's what Mr. Scott w

Agriculture committee  It's too bad the chair, Mr. Miller, had to step out, because he could give an example in his riding of exactly where this happened, where the local retailer is not interested in interprovincial trade barriers. They simply want to buy from the local meat processor. From a food saf

Agriculture committee  We agree with you. That's what we've been talking about. We really believe that a terminal in Montreal would help the local retailers in Quebec hugely. It would help not just the retailers; it would help the whole chain in Quebec to have a terminal in Quebec. That would be a trem

Agriculture committee  I think it would be great. We've seen the provinces and the federal government, under the APF, work together in a number of areas. For our sector, it would be.... Pardon me?

Agriculture committee  Yes. We think it would be wonderful if the federal government and the province were to partner on developing food terminals in Montreal and Vancouver, which would be great for the whole chain. It would be good for everyone and would stop the silliness we have now whereby we have

Agriculture committee  I'll very quickly point out to you that when New Brunswick passed franchise legislation a couple of years ago, one of the reasons they brought forward the legislation was their frustration with precisely this issue. When Sobeys bought the Oshawa Group, in the Maritimes some comp

Agriculture committee  I think one thing—and we talked about this the previous time we were before the committee—is that there's certainly a need to have a mutual recognition of the provincial and federal meat inspection systems. In our view, this is being used—and the chairman will be aware of this in

Agriculture committee  I just wanted to reiterate what Mr. Scott was saying. I just want to stress that part of the message we're trying to deliver here is that for the independents to continue to survive--and this is important for the whole chain--it's critical that they buy locally. They have to diff