Good morning. My question concerns feed exports and imports.
In my previous incarnation—before I became a politician—I exported hay to the United States. Exporting feed to the US is a relatively simple process. However, it is extremely difficult to import hay from the US. Quebec and Canadian horse breeders would dearly love to be able to import certain varieties of feed, for example, South American alfalfa. Sometimes, if the colour is unusual, our hay is not allowed into the US, even though we cannot take it back. If a shipment is turned away in Vermont, theoretically we could bring it back to Canada, given the small distance involved. Our exporters are thus faced with a dilemma. US buyers know that it is extremely difficult to return feed to Canada and so they offer ridiculously low prices, which leads to certain consequences. When our exporters are offered lower prices for their product, regardless of the reason, producers are left holding the bag.
Why haven't Canadian and US feed export and import policies been harmonized?