Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Good afternoon. My name is Peter Clarke. I'm an egg producer from Nova Scotia. With me today in the audience is fellow vice-chair Maurice Richard, an egg producer from the province of Quebec. As vice-chairs of the Canadian Egg Marketing Agency--CEMA--we would like to thank the committee for inviting us to present today.
CEMA administers the production, pricing, marketing, and promotion of eggs in Canada through the uniquely Canadian system of supply management, which matches production to consumer demand. Supply management farmers are able to make meaningful economic and social contributions without relying on taxpayer dollars to stabilize income from the marketplace.
CEMA encourages the committee to carefully consider how government can support successful agricultural models such as supply management. The agriculture industry is uniquely positioned in that it delivers on the necessary public good of food security and food safety, while at the same time serving an economic background of rural Canada.
I will begin by outlining CEMA's three recommendations for the committee.
The first is that the committee support the establishment of an interim compensation program so that the true costs of avian influenza disease are compensated.
The second is that the committee support production insurance programs that allow the inclusion of livestock production and coverage for all perils.
The third is that the committee encourage government-wide support of supply management as a business risk management program.
With regard to avian influenza compensation, farmers are affected by factors not within their control, such as animal diseases like avian influenza. Even though the Eurasian strain has never been found in North America, if a farmer's flock in Canada tests positive for either H5 or H7 strains, the entire flock must be immediately culled. Although farmers support pre-emptive culling, it is important that they do not bear the financial brunt of an action taken for the greater public good. Compensation for flock destruction under the Health of Animals Act regulations recognizes only the replacement costs of animals, not the productivity, and is therefore inadequate for poultry. In addition, it is not clear that the new suite of business risk management programs announced November 17 by the agriculture minister will provide adequate compensation for disease outbreak losses. There is a great deal of confusion and conflicting information regarding various components of the program suite. Until these outstanding matters are resolved, a compensation program specifically for avian influenza is required to ensure producers who act quickly are treated fairly.
We ask the committee to recommend that Budget 2008 include support to secure appropriate short- and long-term compensation programs for animal diseases that impact the public good.
Our second recommendation relates to production insurance. Governments appear to support expanding production insurance to include livestock. We are concerned that the expanded program will only cover animals and not the loss of the products of the animals; in addition, we believe production insurance should cover any production loss beyond the control of the producer and not be restricted to specific perils. Therefore, we ask the committee to recommend that Budget 2008 include support for production insurance programs that will capture all perils in livestock production to allow for ongoing confidence in Canada's agricultural future.
Our third recommendation relates to supply management. Supply management allows farmers to operate independently, without government subsidies for products sold. It is a program that benefits the government as it eliminates a financial demand that might otherwise exist. Supply management is critical to the economic future of rural Canada; without it, there would be a profound impact on the rural economy. In order to preserve the benefits of the supply management model, the government must aggressively defend it at the international trade negotiations and clearly recognize it in domestic policy.
We ask the committee to recommend government-wide support of supply management, recognizing the demands on the federal treasury that might otherwise exist for farm stabilization programs.
In conclusion, we would like to thank the members for carefully considering our comments today. The agriculture sector, including the egg industry, is integral to Canada's economic and taxation model. As the agriculture sector continues to invest in this country, CEMA asks the government to continue to invest in agriculture by ensuring the programs are in place to deliver food security and food safety to Canadian consumers and a strong economic base to the rural community.
Thank you for your time.