We are working hard, together with our producers, to ensure that Canadian products are properly labelled and traceable. Livestock identification at the farm lies at the heart of any great labelling and tracing system. Since 2002, Quebec producers have practised livestock identification on all animals from the moment they are born until the time they are sent to the slaughterhouse.
The same system exists elsewhere in Canada and is in the process of being strengthened. It allows Canadian beef producers to be truly competitive on the international market. Canadian beef producers primarily sell cattle that are younger than 20 months. Japan, which has stringent criteria in place, has insisted that it only wants animals younger than 20 months. In Quebec, were we asked to, we could provide the age of all of our marketable livestock. We could do the same across Canada, if need be.
Setting up such a system, however, requires support. Yet in Quebec, our system was entirely funded by our producers, with a little help from the provincial government. They got no help from the federal government. Federal funding went elsewhere. Federal support is provided in Canada, but it has not attained its objectives. I support clear labelling, and I believe it should also communicate the quality of Canadian products.
Our discussions often lead us to the infamous topic of countervailing duties. How is it that the U.S. can have an agriculture support program worth tens of billions of dollars without anybody batting an eyelid, yet Canada runs into difficulties if our government provides a few million dollars to help its beef and pork industries? We have to sit down at the table and come up with some solutions.
It is the same government, the same international organizations and the same WTO. When has the Canadian government ever attempted to take legal action against the United States for dumping by selling pork in Canada at ludicrous prices? We often see the same problem with veal. Quebec is a hub for the veal industry in Canada. Why is it that veal is being imported when we produce it here in Canada? It can be imported. The answer is because there is not enough control at our borders.