Agriculture committee  In Quebec, we concentrate more on starch and carbohydrates rather than on oil, even though we do produce soya. We are interested in biodiesel. A lot of research has been done in cooperation with Ontario. Corn works very well in terms of water and energy use. Corn grain produces s

Agriculture committee  The agricultural community would love to see that happen, but experience and information over the last few years on ethanol and biodiesel show that profitability is a matter of scale. This is particularly true for ethanol, but even in the case of biodiesel, we have realized that

Agriculture committee  I can tell you quite honestly that the Fédération des producteurs de cultures commerciales du Québec has a rather general understanding of Bill C-33, which is intended to amend the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. Our interest is more directly tied to everything that affe

Agriculture committee  We see the difficulty in the same way as Mr. Thomson. The urgency can be explained in this way. We already have projects in Quebec—we hear a lot about them—aimed at expanding an existing plant. The problems may be different in the rest of Canada, but in Quebec, it is a problem of

Agriculture committee  I will give a general answer and let Mr. Bisaillon give the details, since he is familiar with the financial aspect and the spinoffs. As a general remark, therefore, the 300,000 tonnes of corn for this new market has had quite a spectacular effect on prices in Quebec. Of course,

Agriculture committee  Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, good afternoon. Thank you for inviting us to appear before you. The Fédération des producteurs de cultures commerciales du Québec has a keen interest in Bill C-33, an act to amend the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. It is clear that

Agriculture committee  I apologize. The grain sector in the United States is huge, producing 450 million tonnes or nearly 20% of the world's grain. Our experience over the past 33 years, which has been shaped by a series of farm bills that continually influence our day-to-day operations, clearly shows

Agriculture committee  Yes, it's very effective. The bargaining power of our producers has increased significantly. It's never perfect and we have to deal with very powerful buyers that are very concentrated, which means that we must improve our tools. Our producers are convinced that those tools allow

Agriculture committee  Yes. The regulation applies only to wheat. Pooled marketing only applies to wheat.

Agriculture committee  At this time, the regulation does not apply to those grains.

Agriculture committee  Yes. There were consultations during the annual meeting of the Federation, exclusively on wheat, and then there was a referendum separate from the annual general meeting. The referendum was held with all the wheat producers. For the time being, producers have only decided for wh

Agriculture committee  Could you repeat your question?

Agriculture committee  The producers of the region have to want to make that decision and to have the regulatory tools to do so. Most of the provinces have passed legislation on the marketing of farm products and can implement marketing regulations. In some cases, they have limited power. I know that

Agriculture committee  Once the majority has decided to take charge of the marketing of its product, the others can't do as they wish anymore. Once the profession has taken a majority decision, there's no flexibility anymore. If I can make a link with the Canadian Wheat Board, from what I understand,

Agriculture committee  We haven't thought about it, like—