I'd like to pursue what Francine was talking about in regard to supply management. Your government has committed to protecting supply management. I thank you for that.
We have seen, however, roughly 17,000 tonnes of concessions to European cheese coming into Canada. You're saying there will be compensation, but we know that now our farmers will be competing with subsidized farmers in Europe.
The TPP is coming up. There's tremendous pressure, as we all know, from New Zealand and other countries, the United States, to not do away with supply management but maybe for more concessions. My understanding is that there would be more compensation, but I'd like to get a commitment from you that we won't be doing this, we won't be offering any more concessions, that you're committed to protecting supply management as is, that it's not costing the taxpayer anything, that we don't need to make concessions to New Zealand or other countries. They're all interested in protecting their own interests, so I'd simply like a commitment from you to do that.
The second topic is also obviously no surprise to you. We have the Arctic Apple, we have alfalfa, which have basically been approved but have not yet been released into the environment. There is concern from farmers that this could damage them economically. We know that Argentina has certain rules that look at the economic impact before introducing new GMO varieties.
Would you be willing to have, for example, a moratorium on these two commodities prior to allowing their release? We've seen concern that there could be export markets for our alfalfa pellets touched, the organic industry. We've seen some contamination already across the border, and we know that the B.C. fruit growers are very concerned, as are organic producers, about the apple.
I'd like to get your comments and some commitment from you to ensure that our farmers are protected as we move into this new GMO area.