Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good morning, everyone.
We are pleased to talk to you today about Canada's largest sector of economic activity, agriculture and agri-food. The two areas go together well.
In fact, agricultural producers look after production and others add value by looking after processing. Revenue from agriculture in Canada totals $50 billion. The trade balance for agricultural products in 2014 reached $19 billion. The agri-food sector in Canada generates about 2.2 million jobs, or one job in eight, an indication of how important this sector is. In Quebec alone, we are talking about $8.3 billion in revenue in 2014 and a positive balance of $1.8 billion. In jobs, the situation is similar to Canada's, meaning that about one job in eight depends on Quebec's agriculture or agri-food industries.
However, we would like to tell you at the outset that agriculture's primary calling is to feed our world, and to feed as many people as possible when we are able to export our products. We at the Union des producteurs agricoles are not opposed to agreements being negotiated to facilitate trade. But some of our products are sensitive, including those covered by supply management. We also have agricultural industries of critical importance, specifically milk, poultry and eggs. For us, those are sensitive products and we want to protect them. To do so, we need control at the borders. Otherwise, those industries may well collapse. That is why we are so insistent about border controls.
Given what people in other countries are paying for those products, it is clear that supply management principles established in those industries cost consumers very little. We very often hear that those products are a little more expensive, but the fact is that any product bought in Canada is more expensive than in the United States, even toothpaste. Everything is a little more expensive here. It probably has to do with our geography and with transportation. We do not know exactly why, but we do know that it is not because the products are covered by supply management.
In agriculture, it is crucial to have support mechanisms and income security. Two of those mechanisms are particularly important: supply management and collective marketing. Small companies are located all across Canada. We have legislation that allows us to come together and pool our resources. Those mechanisms are still valid today and are extremely important, for Quebec also. We rely on those tools a lot and, as farmers, we make a great deal of use of them.
To answer your questions in part, I will say that specific employment insurance measures once more require improvement. You have improved them, and that was welcome, but there is room for still more improvement in the program. In agriculture, there are managers but there is also the labour and the labour problems. With unemployment and the workforce, training is important. Currently, some people do not have access to training programs. That must be considered with a more open mind.
There is also a problem with transportation. With people who are a little less fortunate, transportation problems are critical. In rural areas, there is no public transportation. People may talk about poverty in Montreal or in other large cities, but it is everywhere across Quebec and Canada. Accessibility is an ever present problem in the regions.
In addition, responsibility for infrastructure like roads has been transferred to the municipalities. But how are small communities going to manage to maintain that municipal infrastructure? The question has to be asked because, in agriculture, transportation is something that we really cannot do without.
In terms of the labour shortage, we always give priority to the people who live here, but foreign worker programs are vital in agriculture. I am referring to temporary workers.
In terms of measures to help our small agricultural businesses, we need assistance in research and innovation. A number of people brought that up earlier. In recent years, Canada has become disengaged from research and innovation. In that aspect, we are one of the lowest ranked OECD countries.
Can we get back to where we once were among OECD countries in research and development?
As Mr. Leblanc mentioned, in terms of promoting and selling our products outside the country, we need help. We need it to improve our presence outside the country.
No one is better than the people close to the sectors involved when it comes to setting up those programs, that way of doing things, including innovation and research. I am sure that Mr. Easter remembers the former agriculture development councils. Unfortunately, that structure was discarded.
Over time, money may well have been transferred to other structures, but, as a farmer, when I assess everything the councils did in the past, I can say that we have never achieved the same goals, the same results, as we did then. The councils were administered by producers’ associations that ran the organization and the programs that had been agreed on together.
Our businesses have a continuity in time and in the way they are transferred. In agriculture, most farms are family-run. The problem is that, when a farm is transferred from one family to another, the tax rules are not fair compared to when other businesses are transferred outside the family.
We are therefore asking for improvements in two aspects: the tax measures and the rules of the game governing the transfer of farms. When this involves siblings, there is a problem that absolutely must be solved. Quebec has already solved it in part. Could the federal government make corresponding adjustments and thereby correct the tax problem for siblings?
We have been waiting for a long time. Some will perhaps say that we have to wait and see, that is, until after the consultations on the Growing Forward program. I say that we can act immediately. In budget 2017, there is a way to send a signal to farmers, telling them that the government really does want to invest in agriculture.
When we sign trade agreements, we have the responsibility of making sure that people are ready and able to be competitive. The country has been opened to outside markets, and very often, other countries are preparing as a result. We do want to sign agreements, but we are not ready to implement them. Our businesses have to be prepared as quickly as possible. That is why a clear signal is needed in budget 2017 so that our companies are motivated and determined to move forward. Our farmers have that motivation and determination and they want to press on.
That is basically the message I wanted to give you; I will be pleased to answer your questions.