Thank you.
As you mentioned, I'm Bob Lowe. I'm a beef producer in southern Alberta and also the president of the Canadian Cattlemen's Association. With me is Fawn Jackson, our director of policy and international affairs.
Thanks for inviting us to discuss the supply chain challenges in Canada's beef sector, and to identify potential solutions to build resiliency by working together as industry and government.
With the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we knew there would be global supply chain disruptions. We were encouraged to see the Government of Canada recognize agriculture as an essential service to ensure the continued flow of goods across Canada and internationally.
While the sector has over the last three years performed remarkably well under the circumstances, the combination of the pandemic and severe weather has identified areas that need to be further strengthened for long-term resilience. Supply chain challenges have included a lack of redundancy in processing capacity, shortages of labour, major trade route interruptions and supply chain impacts due to severe weather such as fire, flood and drought.
If we can learn one lesson from the last three years it's that investment in resilient infrastructure; quick, responsive emergency programs; and a prioritization of trade are critical to long-term resiliency. Our sector has identified key investments that will help build resilience to current and future stresses.
Investment in labour is needed across agriculture and industries that transport agricultural goods. The global market for Canadian agricultural products is expanding rapidly, but persistent labour challenges are jeopardizing its growth potential as well as its resilience in the face of challenges such as COVID-19.
In 2017, 16,500 jobs went unfilled in our sector, which cost us $2.9 billion in lost revenues. In every province and across every commodity, labour shortages impact today's production levels and resilience in supply chain for tomorrow's growth potential.
I mentioned the global market above. We are a trade-dependent industry exporting 50% of what we produce in the beef sector. We need to be able to get our products to market, but also to import products when faced with challenges such as processing capacity. When we've had trade interruptions they've had some of the biggest impacts on our resilience as a sector and thus the resilience of our food supply chains.
Continued investment in prioritizing trade, diversification of markets, and new and increased investment in addressing non-technical trade barriers is key to Canada's economic growth and stable supply chains.
On that note, I would like to thank both Minister Bibeau and Minister Ng for their help recently in getting South Korea and the Philippines to reopen their borders, and to all members of this committee for reaching out with their offers to help whenever they can.
Investment in the transportation corridors to withstand extreme events is critical for long-term success. Roads, rail, ports, etc., need to be maintained and ready for the impacts of climate change with prevention—an example would be dikes—and redundancy—an example would be alternative routes—being key. Also, rural infrastructure needs to be prioritized and invested in significantly by the broader community, as it is the basis of much of Canada's GDP.
We recommend committing essential rural infrastructure investments, including but not limited to irrigation, roads, bridges, flood mitigation, and expanding on rural broadband Internet that is both reliable and affordable.
Now I'll turn it over to Fawn.