Australia's dairy production has dropped significantly since the deregulation.
In New Zealand, the monopoly created by the government has helped the industry become a success.
Canada faces the world's largest dairy producer, the U.S., which produces 11 times more milk than us. We therefore believe it is warranted and indeed more important than ever for all of us to work together to protect our industry.
In trade agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the federal government has succeeded in maintaining high tariffs at the border, a key requirement for preserving our dairy system. Clearly, we are disappointed because of the concessions made and the significant increased access to the Canadian market provided to our trade partners.
I would like to close my presentation with a significant issue we are facing, diafiltered milk.
The federal government was able to protect supply management against our trade partners. It is now up to the federal government to help us safeguard our industry domestically. To do so, the government must legislate on diafiltered milk, and ensure that cheese composition standards are protected in Canada and enforced. We must protect our industry domestically.
Agropur has imported diafiltered milk until recently. Our intent is to stop as soon as possible. In that context, we once again need the federal government's help to ensure compliance with our cheese composition standards. We don't understand why the government has not taken action on the issue, but it is in the best interests of our industry and people.