Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to the witnesses for being here this morning.
My first question is for you, Ms. Emond.
On the weekend, the European free trade agreement was signed. No doubt you have a tremendous amount of work to do as a result.
During the negotiations, the Conservative government had established a compensation program for Canada's dairy farmers. In the House this week, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food said that it would be a transitional program. So there will be some compensation during the transition.
I don't know if you would agree, but from my point of view, that is not the same thing. Some journalists specializing in agriculture are suggesting that there is an agreement on a transition program. On Monday, the government set out a transition program and journalists are already aware of it. Were you aware of it? Have you participated in developing this program? Do you have any comments to make on it?
We are members of the House of Commons and the government has not yet told us anything about the development of a transition program. We had heard instead about a compensation program. We are frustrated. For your part, you should have played an active role in this process. We should have been informed before journalists commented on it in specialized journals.