Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Peschisolido.
I heard what you said about the committee not being the right forum to do a proper study. The government is in the midst of extensive consultations and is receiving numerous requests regarding the food guide. We are being told that this committee isn't the right forum to discuss the food guide and that it's a Health Canada matter. We are the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food, though. We have to stop being afraid to talk about issues that affect the people who feed Canadians.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, is of great interest to Canada. It is important not only for trade, but also for grain, dairy, beef, and poultry producers. It's a deal that matters tremendously to all the Canadian farmers and processors we represent. They want access to that market, which, as we all know, is vast. That is all the more important given today's news that India is imposing new 50% tariffs, a devastating blow to Canada's agricultural industry.
We mustn't close our eyes. We have to listen to our producers and give them the opportunity to be heard. The very role of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food is to give Canadian producers the chance to speak to the members of Parliament on the committee. In each of our parties, we were chosen by the people to represent their interests on this committee. We should hear what they have to say and include their recommendations in a report, which would then make its way to our parliamentary colleagues, including the ministers responsible for trade negotiations, international trade, and global affairs.
Unfortunately, we learned that the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food will not even be at the TPP talks next week. As far as I know, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food under the previous Conservative government always took part in those talks.
It's important that our committee send a clear message to Parliament and the government: agriculture must figure prominently in the negotiations. We cannot behave as though products come ready-made and ready to go. Our involvement is all the more essential given that, according to its most recent budget, the government intends to significantly expand Canada's agricultural production in the coming years. The objectives are ambitious, and one way to achieve them is for producers to have access to new markets.
We do, however, have to overcome a major TPP challenge: a key player has backed out. The negotiations that took place involved 12 countries originally and no longer necessarily apply to a TPP deal between 11 countries. The concessions that were made in the context of a 12-country TPP may not apply to the negotiations for an 11-country TPP. If the committee does not seize this opportunity for Canadian farmers to have their say, I can't see who in Parliament will.
That is why I urge my fellow members to think seriously about allowing the committee to discuss the TPP as soon as possible and to hear what producers and members of the agrifood industry have to say about it.
I haven't been on the committee for the past two years, but I believe it has already looked at the issue of the TPP. Have you examined it?