Thanks very much, Roger.
The third matter to highlight for us this evening is the impact of allowing unlimited duty-free egg imports from Ukraine into Canada. This approach weakens the Canadian egg-farming sector by removing our ability to plan our domestic production net of imports, which is a fundamental element of supply management.
Allowing an unclear volume of foreign eggs or egg products into our country has a direct impact on our national economy and rural communities. While the implications across our sector are significant, the equation is rather simple: An increase in imported eggs means fewer domestically produced eggs. This affects not only the livelihood of our farmers but also the recovery of rural Canadian communities in a post-COVID economy.
Our farmers are committed to continuing to feed Canadians and providing strong domestic food security today and tomorrow. However, displacing Canadian products with foreign products takes income from Canadian family farms and the many small businesses that rely on those farms in rural communities. While it is difficult to say what volume of egg or egg products may enter Canada under the remission order, we encourage government to consider solutions that minimize the impact on Canadians and our domestic agriculture community while supporting the people of Ukraine.
As we conclude, there is one final item that we wish to raise with you today. According to the World Food Programme, as many as one in three Ukrainians is food-insecure. We encourage our government to consider ways to work with Ukrainian officials and farmers to address the food crisis the country is experiencing rather than establishing channels to allow a few large companies the opportunity to export a staple food out of a country experiencing a food crisis.
We offer our collaboration and assistance to find ways to help Ukrainian farmers directly and to support their domestic food supply.
We thank the members of the committee for their time.