Thank you.
Chair, members of this committee, farmers need help right now. They are the front line of our food supply. We have a $2.6-million oversupply of mushrooms due to the closure of the restaurant market. We need $3.8 million for emergency COVID measures to protect our workforce by providing such things as extra housing, extra transportation, protective equipment and more space in the workplace.
We also need a fair program to provide a safety net in case a positive COVID case is found. Farmers need help, the Financial Post said this week, or else Canada could lose up to 15% of its farms this year. Farms closing because of layoffs does not make sense as our grocery shelves are emptying.
In the United States, farmers are dealing with the exact same processing and production issues. Their food supply is breaking, an article this week said. There's not going to be as much food in the stores. What does this mean in the U.S.? Recently, we know the U.S. did not want to sell us face masks from American companies. That was being prohibited. How is it going to be any different when farmers in the U.S. are dealing with the same issues and Canada is trying to get the same imports? Both the public safety and the finance committees need to think through our food security at this time.
We've reviewed all the COVID programs and we find that none of them are working for our farmers. The reason is that the parameters are for small businesses, but the modern Canadian farm has a high capital investment, particularly for mushroom farms, and also a lot of employees, so they're not qualifying for the programs for small businesses.
In contrast, the U.S. has released $19 billion for its farmers, $3 billion of which is for oversupply. That's why we think the Canadian Federation of Agriculture's $2.6 billion is very accurate. It's because we know it's from surveys we all did last week, and we also feel it is proportionate compared to the food produced in the U.S., and it is a real need for the farmers.
We're also calling on Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada to please step up to the plate. Let's roll out that Canada brand campaign. Ag Canada has had $25 million sitting there since January. We need to move that out now. We need to promote Canadian products in the stores, so we're also asking the Retail Council, which we hope is testifying here on this panel with us. We had a meeting with representatives two weeks ago. Let's get a working group together: the farmers, the processors, the grocers. Let's fill the empty grocery shelves with Canadian products and let's put a Canadian flag up there so people know where to buy Canadian products first.
This is what we're asking for, and we're hoping you can help us with this and get this prioritized because we really can't wait anymore.
Thank you very much.
We're looking forward to questions.