Agriculture Committee on May 5th, 2026

[Pierre Petelle]

Unfortunately, I didn't grow up on a farm, although I wish I had.

On the crop side, as with any business, it's about predictability. As Tyler said, there are many things in Canada's control. For example—I know I sound like a broken record—our regulatory environment is within our control. That can attract investment and innovation.

When a farmer faces the inevitable issue out of their control, like a weather event or drought, at least they'd have a suite of tools to address it. That's really where we're coming from. Keep the tool box full for farmers so it gives them a fighting chance and minimizes their risks.

[Emma Harrison, Liberal, Peterborough, ON]

Certainly.

Right before I left, my husband and I were in our driveway, and our waterline split from our pond to our water. We do high-intensity rotational grazing, so we need that waterline working. I looked at him and said, “You know we don't have to do this, right? We could sell everything tomorrow and our life would be, seemingly, so much easier.” However, it goes back to all your points. This is food security for my community. It's food security across our country. I unequivocally agree with you. This is part of national security.

Now we see what we're facing. The spotlight has moved to agriculture and how it needs to be supported. How do we foster an environment in which young people want to continue to carry on the legacy?

How much time do I have?

[The Chair, Liberal, Michael Coteau]

You're done.

[Emma Harrison, Liberal, Peterborough, ON]

Never mind. I'm sorry.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Michael Coteau]

I was letting you finish your sentence. Thank you.

Mr. Lemire, you have six minutes, please.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Roy, thank you for your constant commitment to this committee and for being here again today to talk about the reality of your industry and the risks involved. One of the biggest risks, of course, is disease. In the case of your industry, it's swine fever.

How are the programs adapting to that reality? Do you feel that the programs intended to meet the industry's needs are always ad hoc?

What would a program that would actually work for pork producers in Quebec or Canada look like?

[René Roy]

Thank you for the question.

I want to acknowledge that the swine fever preparedness program has been greatly improved in recent years. Action is usually taken after the fact, but in the case of swine fever, the industry as well as the government were proactive. However, the funds that have been set aside are temporary. I'm speaking for our industry, but I know that in agriculture in general, the disease problem is an extremely important issue, and it's poorly addressed in the current risk management programs.

Our proposal is to set up a special program to act in the event of a biosecurity problem, whether it's swine fever or other diseases that we don't even want to name because we don't want to see them here.

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

I would like to delve a little deeper into that.

How is risk managed in livestock production? In the absence of reliable or predictable programs, you have to take action on a daily basis. What are those actions?

[René Roy]

One of the risks we see on our farms is that, when we don't have the right tools, we reduce our investments, which has a direct impact on the resilience and proactivity of our businesses for the future. This year, we can breathe a little easier, but I have colleagues who told me that, in recent years, they had stopped investing to make sure they weathered the storm. We are prevented from making investments and looking to the future.

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

That's not good. It's not good for the industry and it's not good for the economy. It's not good for anybody.

[René Roy]

No, it's damaging to all of us, not only to the agricultural sector but to all Canadians.

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

You often talk about how hard it is to access the advance payments program, particularly for pork producers. In its economic update, the government did mention that it would set the cap at $250,000, but again, temporarily. This is a missed opportunity to provide predictability.

How would you fix that in the long term?

[René Roy]

I'd set it at $350,000 and move forward.

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

That's simple. Yes, we're still waiting for that news. Once again, this is a band-aid solution instead of a lasting one.

I'd like to hear what you have to say about the impact of the free trade agreement with Mercosur on pork production. The same question was asked earlier about the beef sector. Does such an agreement raise concerns among pork producers?

[René Roy]

Yes, it raises concerns among pork producers, because of the standards. I'll let our president address the problem.

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

That is actually a very good question. Obviously, we would like to have access to other international markets. Free trade is in our DNA. However, the challenge with Mercosur is that its animal health and biosecurity standards are much lower than ours.

One of the things we're asking for is that the Government of Canada put a lot more emphasis on raising standards in that region to make sure, if these countries are allowed access to our market, that their products meet Canadian standards. We also need to establish a very strong framework that says that, if they aren't able to meet our standards, we won't buy their products. It's a very simple issue.

If they can't guarantee our pork producers that they're going to do it, we'll have another story to tell, which will probably be similar to that of the beef producers. It is essential for us to be sure that the protection of our international markets is based on Canadian standards, so that people know that their pork products meet the best animal health standards in the world.

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

The idea of standards is interesting, because we get the sense that, when standards elsewhere are not as good as ours, it doesn't prevent us from importing, but when good practices are followed elsewhere, we don't necessarily import.

I'll give you the example of the price transparency index. You know that the committee recently called for such an index to be set up. To what extent would that help minimize the risks for your businesses, particularly for livestock and pork?

[René Roy]

It would be an extremely profitable tool for our industry, not only because of predictability, but also because it would send the right market signals to our value chain, which would make it possible to take the right actions on the ground.

As producers, we see this as an undeniably valuable tool. The United States has used it to grow its industry.

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

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Michael Coteau]

Thank you so much.

Next we'll go to the Conservatives for five minutes.

Mr. Gourde, go ahead.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lévis—Lotbinière, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to the witnesses for being here this morning.

Mr. Roy, we all want to see the risk management programs evolve, but I think it's also important to look at what's happening elsewhere, such as our neighbours to the south. I think our neighbours to the south have built into their risk management programs the ability to work with futures contracts. I don't know if you're aware of that. If so, can you tell us about it?

[René Roy]

I won't go into it in depth, because I'm not a technical expert on all the details. However, what I can tell you today is that in the United States, these tools have made it possible to reassure producers about the future. In addition, the funds that have been invested in market risk management tools have made it possible to expand.

As some of my colleagues said earlier, when you have better predictability, you're able to invest with more confidence and it's also much easier to get the funds that are essential to investments. Therefore, Canada has a competitive disadvantage when it comes to risk management tools compared to the United States.

A number of our colleagues are on both sides of the border, with some operations in Canada and others in the United States. Recently, I've heard a number of producers say that it's currently more profitable to invest in the United States. These are Canadians farmers who are on both sides and who say they're going to invest in the United States. It's unfortunate to hear that, because that's capital that could be used to move our industry forward.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lévis—Lotbinière, QC]

Are they investing in the United States because they feel better protected, in terms of their financial health, by the programs in place in the United States?

[René Roy]

Yes.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lévis—Lotbinière, QC]

I understand that we can't really elaborate on this subject in three or four minutes. However, if you have any information to provide to the committee, we would be very happy to have it so that we can include it in our study report.

Mr. Fulton, I'll ask you the same question. Is there a way to better integrate futures contracts into risk management programs in order to protect the financial security of beef producers?