Thank you for inviting us to speak on behalf of the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance, or CAFTA, voice of Canadian agri-food exporters, regarding the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement.
My name is Claire Citeau, and I am the executive director of CAFTA. I will share my time with our vice-president, Brian Innes.
Our members have a very simple message: CAFTA calls for the swift ratification of CUSMA to ensure continued stability in the North American market and strongly urges parliamentarians in both Houses to pass Bill C-4 quickly.
CAFTA represents the 90% of farmers who depend on trade, as well as producers, manufacturers and agri-food exporters who want to grow the economy through better and competitive access to international markets. This includes the beef, pork, meat, grains, cereals, pulses, soybean, canola, as well as the malt, sugar and processed food industries.
Together, our members account for more than 90% of Canada's agri-food exports, which in 2019 reached over $60 billion, and support about a million jobs in urban and rural communities across Canada. A significant portion of these sales and jobs would not exist without competitive access to world markets.