Both Bezan and Miller are cattle producers themselves and represent ridings heavily involved in the cattle and agriculture industry. Both Members of Parliament serve on the House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food, comprising half of the Conservative members on the committee.

Bezan and Miller are optimistic that the court will recognize the safety and high quality of Canada's beef supply, and quickly overturn the previous decision to close the border to Canadian cattle.

“I am hoping for a positive outcome from this appeal for all the producers in my riding and across Canada,” said Bezan. “There is another court date on July 27th which could create some further legal wrangling, but we are hopeful this will be over with soon and trade will resume as it had prior to May 2003. We thought it best that we go as Canadian producers and Members of Parliament to support our farmers as much as possible.”

“As a beef farmer and Member of Parliament for one of the largest cattle producing regions in Ontario,” said Miller, “I feel it is very important that Canadian livestock interests be represented at the hearing in Seattle. Especially seeing as the government has shown no support or leadership in defending Canadian interests on this issue, and in light of the discovery of a cow infected with BSE in Texas a few weeks ago. Now, more than ever, we can see that BSE is a North American issue and not just a Canadian one.