My apologies to members, I didn't know that you didn't have my notes in front of you.
Essentially, the core of my message is that wholesale prices in the U.S. are moving at a much slower pace than in Canada right now, putting more pressure on retail. Of course, you can speculate that the agri-food sector in Canada is less competitive than the U.S., so if you are to think about policies to make sure that there is border reciprocity between two nations.... I'm just looking at the U.S. right now because the U.S. is so close to us. Of course, you will need to implement tariffs, and that's highly desirable when you think about food security in Canada, because tariffs tend to have an impact on inflation domestically.
With lower and no federal carbon pricing in the U.S., American food producers are not burdened with the same environmental costs, creating an uneven playing field in the North American market. We often talk about benefits given to farmers and different stakeholders across the supply chain. Even if you provide financial support to different stakeholders in the supply chain, you still will see inflation and increasing costs because of the compounding impact throughout the supply chain, making, again, the agri-food sector less competitive overall.
The issue is not just about direct financial burdens but also about the systemic cost increases across energy, transportation and input supplies, which enhance inflationary pressures across the board. These increases, even when partially mitigated by government programs, still make the Canadian food industry less agile and competitive on the global stage. The carbon tax likely adds a significant cost burden to the Canadian food industry that is not faced by U.S. producers, making Canadian products more expensive and less competitive, both domestically and internationally.
On that note, I will stop. Thank you, Mr. Chair.