It makes no sense to consider a single label. You talked about jobs, and we also believe that the manufacturing industry generates significant numbers of jobs that need to be protected. That is why we think there should be several different labels. As far as we are concerned, Ms. Thi Lac, it is absolutely essential that the “Product of Canada” designation be redefined. When you sell a product labelled as a “Product of Canada”, the primary raw materials used to produce the product have to be Canadian.
Ms. Jean and Ms. Cloutier from CTAC said that at least 80 per cent of the raw materials should be Canadian. Our approach is similar, but slightly different. We believe that, when a consumer buys a jar of dill pickles, what he is interested in eating are pickles, rather than dill. If the dill comes from Holland, as agricultural producers, we will not be upset. However, a Canadian product must contain cucumbers that come from Canada. It is essential that the raw materials used to produce the product that the consumer buys be Canadian.
There are two steps here. In order to properly identify and differentiate a product from all the others, you absolutely must use the “Canada Brand” concurrently. If that is the case, consumers will no longer be misled. In addition, retailers will have an incentive to meet real consumer needs and include, among their private brand products, some that have that label.
I would just like to make one correction. It was stated earlier that, when a product is packaged in India, it says “Product of India”. However, it is rare for products to be placed on store shelves on the basis of their origin. We are more likely to organize displays based on the brand. There can be Canadian products and Indian products, but the consumer is not aware of their origin. That is precisely the reason why we would like the “Product of Canada” designation to be used hand in hand with “Canada Brand”. If the product is from India, it will not have that label. Consumers will make their choice based on the price. We will not be imposing anything on them, but they will be able to make an enlightened choice.
Having said that, we think it is appropriate to have several different designations, including “Product prepared in Canada”. In our region—I'm from the same region as you—a company like Les Industries Lassonde imports fruit juice from all across the globe, but produces a Canadian product that generates thousands of jobs. It is entitled to use the designation “Product prepared in Canada”, or something similar. However, I would not agree to the idea of this kind of product being labelled “Canada Brand”. I believe that designation should be reserved exclusively for Canadian products.