Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Gentlemen, thank you for coming this afternoon. I listened to your statements as well as my colleagues' questions. I am quite honestly surprised.
I represent Pontiac, a rural riding in the Outaouais region, where there are several beef producers. Obviously, the Pontiac beef industry is not at all like that of western Canada where you find feedlots of 20,000 to 30,000 cattle. In my riding we're talking about nice small farms with about 500 or 600 head of cattle, and people make their living from this.
You undertook an analysis. You talked with feedlot operators, farmers, representatives of associations, of the industry, and grocers. If I have understood correctly, you're telling us today that after these mergers, competition and the industry are alive and well.