Agriculture Committee on Jan. 27th, 2026

[René Roy]

It's a mandatory system. The data has to be sent to the United States Department of Agriculture, which is equivalent to Statistics Canada if we draw a parallel. Every day, that data is aggregated into a database and shared, and there are various industry-recognized standards. That's how it works. We would like to have a similar system in Canada. We feel that there are enough actors in the pork industry to operate in that way here.

I would also like to come back to the point you raised about food security. We were very moved to hear the Prime Minister mention last week that a country that cannot feed itself has few options. We completely agree. We see food security as a matter of national security.

Mr. Heckbert, would you like to add anything?

[Stephen Heckbert, President and Chief Executive Director, Canadian Pork Council]

Yes. It's important to point out that this system already exists. We're asking for sovereignty over the Canadian price. The fact that this system already exists in the United States and that we are entirely dependent on it means that if there were an outbreak of African swine fever in the United States, it would be worse than if it happened in Canada, because prices would drop. The Americans would have their problems, but we would have another problem, which is that we would be tied to a price that no longer reflects our reality. It's very important for us to emphasize that this already exists.

[Louis-Philippe Roy]

As for the implementation, we at Les Éleveurs de porcs du Québec will be monitoring developments in the United States and the reports that will be released on a daily basis. That's how we'll be using it day to day. This transparency also allows us, when negotiating with buyers, to put what's happening in the United States on the table and try to align ourselves with it, because we know that the markets are similar.

So we have to seek out information and ensure transparency for ourselves, because this is our daily reality. That's how farmers are going to get paid at the farm gate. It's extremely important to ensure that this data is accessible to us. Having a similar system in Canada could help us get closer to the meat market and understand how it works.

[Sophie Chatel, Liberal, Pontiac—Kitigan Zibi, QC]

On that note, I think there is a question that everyone following our work would ask, and I would ask as well.

There are our exports to the United States and there is our Canadian market. Insofar as there is a price based on Canadian statistics and established in a transparent and mandatory manner for the Canadian market, the same process should still be used for exports. Our meat market is still highly integrated, much more so in the case of beef, but also pork.

So how would those two prices interact?

[The Chair, Liberal, Michael Coteau]

I have to stop you there. I'm sorry. That's six minutes.

[Sophie Chatel, Liberal, Pontiac—Kitigan Zibi, QC]

That's too bad, it was a good question.

[The Chair, Liberal, Michael Coteau]

I'm sorry. I'll give a 20-second warning to folks.

Next is Mr. Lemire for six minutes, please.

[Sébastien Lemire, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

First, I would like to thank all my colleagues for their welcome. I don't presume to be able to fill Yves Perron's shoes or clogs, but I intend to act in a way that is consistent with his work. I understand his emotions. I feel much the same way when it comes to indigenous relations. However, agriculture is a fundamental issue for me and, in particular, for my region, Abitibi‑Témiscamingue. It's a mining and forestry region, but it's important for me to clearly establish it as an agricultural region.

With global warming and climate change, we definitely have an absolutely critical role to play. However, it will also take a more inclusive look at our territorial realities. We have hog farrowing barns as well, so I think this is an important issue.

I'll start with Mr. René Roy and then go to Mr. Louis‑Philippe Roy.

According to the trend I've observed over the past few years, groceries are costing us more, as consumers. This is obvious, and it's a pet issue for our Conservative colleagues. However, producers are making less and less money, as are processors, even though my initial assumption was that they were the ones profiting. So, if consumers are paying more for their groceries, and producers and processors are making less money, who is profiting?

That's precisely where we sense that there's a lack of clarity, which you want to address. What can we do to improve transparency regarding this gap between consumers, producers and processors?

[René Roy]

Price transparency also leads to transparency for consumers and Canadians. Currently, the processing sector is a black box. We have a good understanding of production, production costs and revenues. We're able to determine certain retail parameters, but the processing sector is a black box.

Our goal is to gain a better understanding of this sector, this link in our supply chain, so that we can also better understand our strengths in the context of a global market. This also has the advantage of allowing consumers to benefit from this transparency and have assurance that there are no undue margins being absorbed by a single sector.

[Sébastien Lemire, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Sometimes there's a gap between the price paid by the consumer and the price obtained by the producer when selling their pork. Could you explain this phenomenon and tell us how it puts both the consumer and the producer at a disadvantage?

[René Roy]

There are economic phenomena. Our goal is not to claim that food inflation will no longer exist. Our goal is to ensure that, in a transparent market, the right market signals are given at the right time to avoid major excesses on either side.

My colleague pointed out that at one point, it was the slaughterhouses that had a problem. When the market signal is misunderstood by the various links in the value chain or is not the right one, there is a risk of disengagement, overflow or wrong actions.

[Sébastien Lemire, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

What we're discussing this morning is a no-brainer for me. I am, of course, talking about transparency, ensuring we understand what the real economy is based on, and the importance of having this data. However, we sense that some people are resistant. Why are some processors or distributors resistant to this idea?

[René Roy]

In a context of market asymmetry, meaning where many players are supplying and few are buying, asymmetry may well say that it offers certain advantages. We hope that by being more transparent, the entire value chain will benefit. That's the goal. What's more, it will enable the sector to remain competitive in the long term. We're confident that we have competitive advantages, and we want to be able to use them as leverage.

[Sébastien Lemire, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

I want to draw a parallel with the forestry industry.

There has been a forestry crisis for about 40 years. The various reference points that are used will greatly harm Quebec's forest industry because they are based on the American industry. What are the consequences for consumers and producers of being dependent on an American strategy, instead of having their own tool?

If the United States coughs, we get the flu. However, we don't want them to cough on the pig, because there will inevitably be an avian or swine flu outbreak with all kinds of consequences. What would happen if there were a downturn there? Are we going to continue to pay more?

[René Roy]

Let me give you a very concrete example. During Mr. Trump's first term, there was a trade war with China. There was a decrease in the price paid to American producers. That U.S. price was transposed here. American producers received subsidies to offset that, but we didn't receive any here. During that time, producers suffered. This creates outright destabilization that, in the long term, could weaken us and perhaps even prevent us from being able to feed ourselves.

[Sébastien Lemire, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Roy.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Michael Coteau]

Thank you very much.

Go ahead, Conservatives, for five minutes.

[Dave Epp, Conservative, Chatham-Kent—Leamington, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Happy new year to all. Thank you to the witnesses.

Welcome, Monsieur Lemire. You're sitting on this side of the table. As Mr. Perron found, you know, staying with this side of the table always works well, so we'll go with that.

I'm going to make three statements, and I think we share the goal of these three statements. Please challenge me if you find these mutually exclusive.

First of all, we all want lower prices for consumers, lower food prices. That's a challenge for everyone.

Second, we want transparency and fairness in the value chain, and one of the ways of getting that is the third statement is that we want as open as possible if not free trade, particularly between our counterparts in the U.S. I'm going to leave the Chinese tariff issues aside. My colleague Monsieur Gourde has already tackled that.

Our meat industry is highly integrated in North America, and I hear you saying we want a separate or a Canadian price discovery system for the producer here in Canada. I believe I understand why, yet our markets are so integrated.

Can you comment—and I'll start with Mr. Roy—both on the relative returns to producers and at the grocery shelves? I hate asking a question I don't know the answer to, but has anyone done retail price comparisons between Canada and the U.S. and what the U.S. consumers are paying for pork and beef? We'll keep it to pork for now. If it's different, why is it different, given the situation we find ourselves in?

[René Roy]

I'm sorry. What was your first one?

[Dave Epp, Conservative, Chatham-Kent—Leamington, ON]

What we are after is lower prices for consumers, and we're after transparency, fairness and profitability throughout the value chain.

[René Roy]

All right, so for the second part, the question of the consumer, there is research done. We are more interested in the production level, but yes, there is research done.

Yes, we are highly integrated between the two countries, but the decoupling that could happen has a significant impact. I would also mention that, in that situation, it is geopolitical, but there's also the question of animal disease. It could be significant in terms of signal and could disrupt the supply chain.

[Dave Epp, Conservative, Chatham-Kent—Leamington, ON]

Thank you.

To get at the transparency side of it, am I hearing you say that if we had more transparency in the value of the processed product, of the cutout product, that would both help the competition, maintain privacy between the competitors, and help consumers?

[René Roy]

Yes.

[Dave Epp, Conservative, Chatham-Kent—Leamington, ON]

How?

[René Roy]

It's by transparency. Price signals will send the right message to the value chain, and the consumer will increase their trust in the value chain. That will, therefore, help the adoption or the acceptance of a product that is produced here and that is of high quality.