Agriculture committee  I think it's going back to that AgriFlexibility and the innovation. We have to innovate in order to stay ahead of the curve. Having a grape growing region in southwestern Ontario was unheard of before, but it is there now. Still, you need innovation to help it to grow and to transform, given that growing grapes in a cool climate is difficult at best.

Agriculture committee  Thank you. I'll be as brief as I can be. I apologize for not getting through the presentation. First of all, CFIA, as everyone knows, has been consulting since 2009, when Prime Minister Harper made a pronouncement, actually in our Niagara region, that Canadians should be able to have clear and concise labelling.

Agriculture committee  I was going as fast as I could, Mr. Chair. I apologize.

Agriculture committee  I think I've said just about everything I need to say. Certainly whatever is left in the document you can read. I appreciate the time.

Agriculture committee  You're more than welcome.

Agriculture committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Agriculture committee  Certainly. I have a French version here, too, so I'm going to try to read from this one. Thank you very much for allowing us to present today. I'd like to thank our member from Welland, Malcolm Allen, for the invitation to speak today before the committee. I will try to be as brief as possible as I'm going forward.

Finance committee  Thank you very much. Again, it's interesting to look at the statistics on the 1989 pull-out program, which was established to transition the grape industry. If anybody remembers the varietals that then went into--and I'm sure nobody in this room drank Baby Duck, or at least won't admit to it....

Finance committee  But I think that clearly, the industry went from $2.5 million in 1989 to $53 million today because of the investment the federal government made in pulling out the grapes, actually pulling the grapes out, and paying the growers. What we're suggesting today is that you're going to help us put the higher-quality grapes back into the ground.

Finance committee  B.C. has had a provincial government program for fifteen years already. What they're asking for, particularly for their apple industry, is to transition to a varietal that's more competitive on the world market. Part of our challenge as well, and I used the statistics earlier about France, Italy, Australia, and New Zealand, is that they're out-competing us on the world stage.

Finance committee  I think one of the most important elements of our industry is that we have a very small land base in Ontario, yet we grow the highest-quality grapes there are, and we can compete on a world stage. We also understand our industry. Knowing that we grow in a cool climate.... Unfortunately, I think a lot of people don't understand that, but if you really take a look around the world, it's very difficult to grow the kinds of grapes we're growing in Ontario.

Finance committee  I wanted to answer the honourable John McKay directly by suggesting that this program we're proposing for grapes will actually pay for the tender fruit and apples as well. The tax is generated from the grapes that go into wine. This is a huge value to the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario.

Finance committee  First of all--

Finance committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee. I am the CEO of the Grape Growers of Ontario. I'm here today representing over 560 growers in Ontario and in six provinces across Canada. I'm here to talk to you about a national replant program and a tree and tender fruit program.