Evidence of meeting #15 for Agriculture and Agri-Food in the 43rd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was local.
A recording is available from Parliament.
3:35 p.m.
Consultant, Marketing, Union des producteurs agricoles
Yes, we all keep raising the same issue.
I'd add that some of the requests were also supported by the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, or CFA.
3:35 p.m.
Bloc
Yves Perron Bloc Berthier—Maskinongé, QC
The bottom line is that nothing has happened so far. It's high time to get things moving.
3:35 p.m.
Consultant, Marketing, Union des producteurs agricoles
There's also the fact that producers working in local marketing must sometimes take specific factors into account. I'm also here to represent these producers. Sometimes, they can't make economies of scale that would qualify them for the same programs.
3:35 p.m.
Bloc
Yves Perron Bloc Berthier—Maskinongé, QC
We're getting to this, Ms. St-Georges. You spoke about assistance for the processing sector to cover the additional costs related to the purchase of equipment. You also spoke of a specific fund for producers and processors concerning market losses. Lastly, you spoke about assistance for small businesses whose main market consists of hotels, restaurants and food services.
What form could this assistance take? Do you need a lump sum payment?
3:35 p.m.
Consultant, Marketing, Union des producteurs agricoles
I wasn't informed of the nature of the request. During the COVID-19 crisis, these sectors of the market were completely shut down. For some people, these sectors account for a large part of their market. I've been speaking to alcohol producers, and for some of them, bars and restaurants account for over 50% of their sales. These are lost sales. People won't necessarily go to the grocery store or directly to the producer to purchase items that they consumed elsewhere. There must be compensation for these markets.
3:35 p.m.
Bloc
Yves Perron Bloc Berthier—Maskinongé, QC
If we remain this inactive, are you concerned that these businesses will disappear?
3:35 p.m.
Consultant, Marketing, Union des producteurs agricoles
Some businesses are already sharing their concerns with us. Some businesses can hold on for a few more months in terms of cash flow. Other businesses, after two or three months, are already starting to raise red flags.
3:35 p.m.
Bloc
Yves Perron Bloc Berthier—Maskinongé, QC
What do you think of the massive support for the agricultural sector in the United States compared to the support here? Tomorrow morning or next year, you must compete with these people.
3:35 p.m.
Consultant, Marketing, Union des producteurs agricoles
Of course, we must look at the long term and keep our sector competitive. Consumers are responding well to demand. People want to encourage producers. Businesses must be ready when the crisis is over to meet the demand that we're creating.
3:35 p.m.
Bloc
Yves Perron Bloc Berthier—Maskinongé, QC
How will we maintain people's interest in buying local products? Can you talk a little bit about this?
3:35 p.m.
Consultant, Marketing, Union des producteurs agricoles
The Union des producteurs agricoles launched the “Let's eat local more than ever!” campaign to promote producers and remind consumers why it's so important to eat local products. Retailers and institutions must make even more room for local products. Hospitals, schools and institutions could further promote local businesses.
As part of the local marketing program, we requested a buy local campaign in order to keep encouraging initiatives that already focused on promoting local producers. This is very important, especially in times of crisis.
3:35 p.m.
Bloc
Yves Perron Bloc Berthier—Maskinongé, QC
There are only a few seconds left to talk about the fund dedicated to promoting Canadian food in export markets.
In your opinion, how could this work?
3:40 p.m.
Consultant, Marketing, Union des producteurs agricoles
This issue was already part of our requests, because some sectors are active in export markets.
However, I'm less familiar with this issue. I came here today to speak more specifically about local marketing.
3:40 p.m.
Bloc
3:40 p.m.
Bloc
Martin Champoux Bloc Drummond, QC
Thank you, Mr. Perron.
Ms. St-Georges, I'll continue speaking with you because earlier you raised the issue of online stores. Farmers are increasingly exploring this option. Many farmers see it as a promising solution moving forward to diversify their revenue.
How is the government encouraging these types of innovative initiatives, particularly from small producers?
3:40 p.m.
Consultant, Marketing, Union des producteurs agricoles
In Quebec, the blue basket initiative was launched. However, it was heavily criticized because it promoted the addresses of businesses in Quebec. When we're talking about the agrifood sector, we must speak about where the food comes from. There's a difference between purchasing a piece of furniture made in Quebec and purchasing food products that we consume because our purchasing habits are rooted in the origin of the product.
We also mustn't think that we'll remake things. Aliments du Québec, for example, is doing a very good job in Quebec.
Labelling in Canada could be improved to promote products grown here. This would show that all the stakeholders in the value chain are in Canada.
3:40 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Pat Finnigan
Thank you, Ms. St-Georges and Mr. Perron.
Mr. MacGregor, you have the floor for six minutes.
3:40 p.m.
NDP
Alistair MacGregor NDP Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC
Thank you very much, Chair.
Ms. St-Georges, on the theme of Internet access in rural areas and how we are going to continue making use of this incredible resource to help local farmers, how much of a disadvantage does it give local farmers when they don't have reliable access to that broadband network? I guess they're not fully able to make use of the most up-to-date websites, etc., to build a functioning place for their customers. The government has a plan in place to expand broadband to rural Canada with 100% coverage by 2030. Can you comment on that timeline as well?
3:40 p.m.
Consultant, Marketing, Union des producteurs agricoles
Of course, it's good to see that this issue is being addressed. However, during the crisis, most Canadians were glued to their screens and they were sensitive to the content broadcast. We saw an explosion in the use of social networks and in the viewing of online content on all platforms. The opportunity was there. However, farmers who didn't have access to the technology were at a disadvantage compared to farmers who lived closer to major centres. This is really a great opportunity. We mustn't wait for another crisis to connect these farmers to the Internet. This is happening now.
Today, as a result of platforms available on the market, such as Shopify, farmers are telling me that, within 24 hours, they can create a website that works well enough for them to receive orders and arrange for delivery. However, farmers who don't have Internet access have a long way to go. I don't think that fax orders are still a possibility.
3:40 p.m.
NDP
Alistair MacGregor NDP Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC
The Minister of Rural Economic Development, the Honourable Maryam Monsef, was recently quoted in the media as saying she would support the idea of Internet access becoming a public utility. Is that something you could get behind, as well?
3:40 p.m.
Consultant, Marketing, Union des producteurs agricoles
I can't comment on this topic today. I haven't received any specific comments in this regard. I'd need to speak about it with the people in the organization.
3:40 p.m.
NDP
Alistair MacGregor NDP Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC
Thank you very much for your comments.
Mr. Hutten, I appreciate your comments on how you've taken advantage of online marketing and how you're barely able to keep up. In my own community over here on Vancouver Island, we also have an online marketplace that allows farmers to make available online the products they have in season, so people can order them. The farmers really like it, because they only need to harvest as much as people need, so they're able to keep their vegetables in the ground longer, and it gives them a little more leeway in seeing what the demand will be.
Can you tell the committee what your own experience was like in transitioning to online marketing and sales, maybe some of the difficulties and roadblocks you had? Is this something the government needs to identify to offer support to other farms so they can take advantage of accessing that local market, building community resilience, etc.?
3:45 p.m.
Owner, Hutten Family Farm
It's an interesting thing. What I have online is essentially a significantly sized CSA. What this means is that it's not quite an online platform where people can choose what they want to buy; it's kind of [Technical difficulty—Editor]. Everyone has to prepay for the food they are going to eat this season, so cash flow is not an issue for me, and I choose what my customers eat. Essentially, each week they get a box of food, which I put an economic value on; they eat the food I give them and they pay for it before they get the food.
Obviously, if I could move all my product that way, that would be great, but I think that is limited. I'm almost finished building an online platform that will be customized, and people can go online to choose what they would like. I have not quite finished loading the data onto it, but I will in the next couple of weeks. I haven't had to do that, because I have not yet had the production this season to need it, but that is where I'm going.
3:45 p.m.
NDP
Alistair MacGregor NDP Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC
I've been a member of a CSA before. One thing I like about it is that it teaches you to make new recipes out of vegetables that you may not have picked yourself. It widens your repertoire, if you will. It's a fantastic model. I think some farms in my area use both models. The farmer will pick what's in season and you'll get a mixed bag. In others, you can pick and choose from different farms the products that you want.
Have you spoken to any other farms about their ventures in this? Is it something they might need help with? As we start looking at the transition toward recovery, is there training that people might need? Is there anything the government can help with to facilitate this kind of transition to the online marketplace to service local communities' needs?
3:45 p.m.
Owner, Hutten Family Farm
I suspect that most people will need assistance. I'm actually a bit lucky there. Two of my brothers are computer programmers and software developers, so I have a little bit of an advantage. They built me the customized online platform that I need. I also have a bit of background in operating a small CSA, so the transition was not as difficult for me as it could have been. It is costly—