In addition, our main sustainable development concern is the level of regulatory requirements in both Quebec and Canada. We're being hurt in three ways in Quebec.
First, most consumers perceive no added value in purchasing fresh fruit and vegetables that have been produced in accordance with high social responsibility standards.
Second, our governments don't rigorously observe reciprocity in international standards the way they should.
Third, with respect to environmental, social and governance factors, ESG factors, all major retailers in Canada boast about the constant, sustainable efforts they make, but they in fact don't abide by their own rules. If they did apply those factors, Canadian products would be favoured over others, and purchasers would pay a premium on those products for meeting the applicable standards.
Consider this example. In January 2024, a major food chain purchased an entire shipment of products from a Quebec producer and raised the farm gate price by 114% to set the retail price. A few days later, the producer was told to take back more than two-thirds of the shipment because the retailer had been offered a lower price by a Mexican producer. Despite the cut to the price paid by the retailer, the in-store selling price remained unchanged. Consequently, there was no benefit for consumers.
Now let's consider solutions. It's impossible to address climate change without seriously attacking it head-on. It's almost essential that the federal government introduce a food security and climate change adaptation plan together with producers and the provincial governments. To do this, financial support for businesses is critical in enabling them to adapt to climate change.
In the circumstances, we would welcome an enhancement of the AgriStability program to reflect successive years of losses as a result of weather and climate change. The interest-free tranche for early payments, which was increased by $100,000 this year, should also be maintained at $350,000.
In conclusion, whereas the Canadian population is now—