Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I would like to go back to the issue of imported products. We can clearly see that there are more and more imported products sitting beside Quebec and Canadian products on grocery shelves. I know that the representatives from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency are going to tell me that I am wrong. We raise this issue every time at this committee. These products are not always subject to the same standards. The people who work out in the field, who work in the agricultural sector, are constantly telling us that they know that some products used in other countries and which are not accepted here, nevertheless cross the border and enter Canada. Every time we raise the issue, people from the agency tell us that they conduct inspections using equivalent standards. This discussion will continue occurring because the people who work out in the field, and here I refer not only to producers but also processors, are always telling us that certain products enter Canada without adequate control, such as products derived from foreign crops that have been grown with the use of chemicals.
We are becoming increasingly more concerned about the quality of our food. The ramifications of listeriosis have given us tremendous pause for thought. Certain aspects of the Weatherill report may be starting to have an effect, although the impact has not been enormous. In 2009, the Market Access Secretariat was established by Canada to promote agricultural exports. Today, the Union des producteurs agricoles du Québec has come out in favour of this decision to open up markets for our producers. However, the UPA is wondering whether or not the Market Access Secretariat should not also be tasked with ensuring the reciprocity of standards for goods that enter Canada. It seems to me that this should be a two-way street. If we want to sell our products to other markets, it is clear that we will have to respect certain standards. Conversely, the agri-environmental rules of the other countries should correspond to ours, so that we can ensure that the food is safe. We need to have clear, straightforward and precise certification norms for food safety, biosecurity, specific risk material and so on and so forth. According to the UPA, it is now time to have..., and if the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is unable to ensure the safety of imported products and the respect of Canadian standards, these responsibilities should be given to the secretariat or some other entity.
I would like to hear your views on the matter.