I'd like to quickly go back to the point Mr. Barrett just made about the allocation of TRQs. We want to reiterate the importance of allocating dairy TRQs to dairy processors.
Last week, we sent a memo on this subject to several government representatives, pointing out that allocating the vast majority of dairy TRQs to dairy processors would minimize the impact on the Canadian dairy market. Let's be clear: it is the viability of the dairy sector that is at stake when it comes to allocating TRQs.
Dairy processors possess the expertise and the distribution network to import a wide variety of dairy products in a way that will be the least disruptive to Canada's domestic dairy market.
The government must refrain from repeating the mistake it made with the Canada–European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, or CETA, under which, it allocated more than half of the CETA cheese TRQs to non-dairy stakeholders. They do not have a vested interest, like dairy processors do, in importing dairy that would minimize the impact on existing production lines and manufacturing platforms in Canada. In addition, dairy processors continue to innovate, invest, and maintain and generate well-paying jobs across the country. Additional imports that are poorly planned or poorly targeted would undermine the survival of many businesses.
Finally, I would like to remind you that the Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement, or CUSMA, will be implemented on July 1, which leaves very little time for our members—dairy processors—to adjust and plan. It is therefore imperative that both TRQs and export allocations be announced by Global Affairs Canada as soon as possible.