International Trade committee  I don't have the data on this, but there's no doubt in my mind that the cuts to food inspection will alter the quality of food Canada will be able to export.

International Trade committee  I'm not familiar with the statement you're making, so I can't comment on it. We have seen Canada's agricultural sector respond to this increased call for export and we have quadrupled our production in Canada to meet those export needs. Our main concern is that if our farmers ar

International Trade committee  If you look at commodity prices right now, they look great. But you can't just look at a spot commodity price, because that's not an indication of how the agricultural sector is doing.

International Trade committee  I say this because in the long term there are going to be booms and busts. I mentioned the price of canola seed. Yes, commodity prices are doing quite well now, but canola seed companies are making sure that they're picking up on that increase in market prices.

International Trade committee  I think it's true. It's great for farmers to make money: the more money farmers can make from the marketplace, the better.

International Trade committee  But I would like to continue and say there's a big distinction between a corporation owned and operated by a family and a corporation involving many people where the owners and shareholders in that corporation aren't the same players who do the work.

International Trade committee  No, and I would say I'm speaking on behalf of those owner-operated farms.

International Trade committee  It's a joint study, actually, on this free trade agreement.

International Trade committee  It's on the DFAIT website.

International Trade committee  What we've seen with these trade agreements is a real trend to internationally competitive businesses. That means for Canadian companies, or companies that are working on an international scale, to be competitive, they virtually need no competition in Canada. If there is too much

International Trade committee  I do work with farmers who are working with export-driven commodities. I do think they might see some gains in this trade agreement with Japan. The reason I'm so hesitant, though, is that I think these benefits to farmers will fluctuate. For example, one year they might see benef

International Trade committee  I'm also going to speak to part of this. I think what's important to acknowledge is what we are trying to accomplish with these trade agreements. Multilateral trade can be beneficial, but it cannot come at the cost of a nation state being able to meet the demands and meet the ne

International Trade committee  Thank you very much for giving us the opportunity to make our presentation here today. My name is Paul Slomp, and I'm the youth vice-president of the National Farmers Union. I'm also a beef producer. I farm beef cattle just south of Ottawa. The National Farmers Union is a non-