Finance committee  Thank you. First of all, I will answer the second question first: the news of the day. If the federal government has launched some actions against the American way of dealing in the pork industry, it is extremely welcomed, because this COOL in the U.S. has disturbed the trade in Canada, has put the provinces one against each other because of the trade of piglets from Ontario—Manitoba has dumped into Ontario, Ontario has dumped into Quebec—and has created a lot of structural problems.

Finance committee  The Fédération des producteurs de porcs du Québec thinks it is a shame that the federal and provincial programs have difficulty coordinating. As pork producers, we do not want to engage in politics. We want assistance programs to be effective. Sometimes we notice that there are coordination problems.

Finance committee  I do not disagree with the UPA, but that is not what the brief is about.

Finance committee  As far as the UPA is concerned, I agree, but that is not what the brief is about.

Finance committee  I will tell you more or less what I told Mr. Pacetti a little earlier. One of the two programs, AgriFlex or AgriRecovery—I do not know them by heart—protects producers for a period of time as a way of protecting margins in the medium term. These programs have to be tweaked, but that is not what our brief is about.

Finance committee  Yes, Japan is a major pork purchaser. It is our biggest pork purchaser after the United States, which is our main customer. Japan is the main customer at this time. The customer of the future is China. Yes, we are having difficulty exporting to China, because our plants were closed due to H1N1, the virus known as swine flu, but what we need is support campaigns to reopen those markets.

Finance committee  We have had some help from the provincial government and federal programs like AgriStability. However, in the case of AgriStability, assistance is decreasing gradually over time. When a crisis goes on for too long, assistance disappears.

Finance committee  Yes, we do support it. In recent weeks, the government announced a $75 million program. This funding, however, is for the short term. However, our report deals with medium- and long-term structural aspects, not short term solutions. We will work with these programs as well as provincial programs.

Finance committee  This report was prepared by a group. It must be associated with the Fédération des producteurs de porcs du Québec and the Canadian Pork Council. It will involve hundreds of thousands of dollars, but not millions or billions.

Finance committee  A little of both. First of all, in recent years, the value of our dollar has risen, which makes it harder for us to compete. At the same time, demand continues to increase. Pork is the most commonly eaten meat around the world, more so than chicken or beef. Some 50% of the world's pork consumption is in China, which is a growing economy and where demand is increasing.

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Distinguished committee members, this morning I will be presenting a report prepared by Jean Lecours and Rémy Laterreur. The Fédération des producteurs de porcs du Québec is giving this presentation in order to demonstrate how this group's recommendations correspond to the opinions of the Fédération des producteurs de porcs du Québec and the Canadian Pork Council.