Agriculture committee  When we're all working in real time or with just-in-time deliveries, whenever there's a little bit of a glitch, there's a major problem. We can look at the transportation. The drivers that we have right now are great, but it's not like we have an overabundance of them. I think having the foundational bricks in place to continue building on....

Agriculture committee  I believe the measures that have been taken to protect the employees are good. However, envision a hockey team where you have three lines and a goalie on the ice and one as a backup. Now, you only have one goalie and you don't have three lines. That is the problem. Now the people who are there have to work harder—way more than what they're asked to.

Agriculture committee  Thank you for the question, Mr. Barlow. We have always held the position that a mandate on interprovincial trucking would be very devastating to our country, to our business. We have made that position known. We notice that people love eating meat and the world is calling for our product, yet for some of the concerns that have been mentioned, we have inability to take advantage of that.

Agriculture committee  No, I have not been consulted. Our sector is always okay with rules and regulations and protocols. That's fine, but folks, we're in a crisis now, so I think we really need to take a step back and focus on the situation of the crisis and ensure that any upcoming regulations, again, that are imposed—whether it be transport related or otherwise—be reflected upon to avoid further disruption in our world.

Agriculture committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Good morning, all. I'd like to thank you for the opportunity to appear before the standing committee to provide the perspectives of Canadian pork producers on the agriculture and agri-food supply chain. My name is Rick Bergmann. I'm a producer from Manitoba and the chair of the Canadian Pork Council.

Agriculture committee  Yes. To my knowledge, I am unaware if our representatives from Alberta have had discussions like the pork organizations have. I would be surprised if they haven't, but I'm testifying that I'm not sure. Maybe René would have an answer from the Ontario perspective, the neighbouring province.

Agriculture committee  Well, really, what is the law? That's what we're talking about right now: Bill C-205. Maybe Mr. Roy would like to respond to that as well with a Quebec perspective, but we really need to have a law in place, which we're seeking.

Agriculture committee  Well, we look at the example of what has happened in Quebec, and Mr. Duval told us a story. You know, seven hours is just not appropriate at all as far as a response time is concerned. As far as the length of time it takes for police officers to get to a location, that's a big question because locations are all over the place.

Agriculture committee  Again, when Bill C-205 was brought forward, we thought it would be a very significant victory across the umbrella of our Canadian production. With regard to the provincial side, to my knowledge, there hasn't been much of that at all.

Agriculture committee  Based on the evidence of what's transpired over the last two years with people walking into farms and putting animals at risk, no, not at all.

Agriculture committee  We're seeing that occur around the world, where it devastates the sectors in those countries. You can look at China, Germany, Poland, and on and on. Our industry here would be decimated—it would be mass euthanasia of the animals—because, folks, pork producers export 70% of what we produce in Canada.

Agriculture committee  That is a great question. Thank you for that. The one that sticks out in my mind is.... In western Canada, we have the Hutterite colonies, which like to keep to themselves. A situation where there is an activist group that is so aggressive that it would actually go to people who really want to stay among themselves and don't want to really interact, to me, is an extreme concern because it tells us, again, that when people select the farms, they're being strategic.

Agriculture committee  We really believe that the enforcement is a big part of it because when one domino falls, without enforcement, what would be the deterrent to this reoccurring and for others to do that? I think enforcement is very much a component of all of this, absolutely. In a rural setting, absolutely, that would be a different situation—not a different situation, but when you're more remote....

Agriculture committee  First of all, we all have expectations of protecting our families and properties. As a matter of fact, maybe in some of the offices that you're sitting in right now, or in your home, there is security to prevent people from coming in. When they come in, that's a wrong thing. Why not agriculture?

Agriculture committee  Thank you for that. Thank you for this opportunity to appear before the House of Commons. Bill C-205 is very important for Canadian pork producers. My name is Rick Bergmann. I'm a producer from Manitoba, and today I'm joined by René Roy, a producer from Quebec. The Canadian Pork Council’s on-farm program, called Canadian pork excellence, is based on HACCP principles.