Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Most importantly, we must not isolate ourselves. On the agreement with Europe, every province was actively involved in the discussions and negotiations. In Quebec, Pierre Marc Johnson took part in all of the discussions and discussed all the issues, and Ms. Marois signed the agreement before making it public.
On the TPP, when 11 trading partners, including the biggest one, our primary partner, the United States, want to renegotiate an agreement that has already been negotiated, we cannot exclude ourselves from the discussions. Let us remember that 72 to 75 per cent of our products are exported to the United States. It is therefore important to hear the opinions of the various stakeholders, but we have to make the decisions that are necessary so as not to be excluded from the agreement. When the other 11 partners were negotiating, we had to be there; otherwise, we had no voice in it. And so we were there.
I will now address the Desjardins Group representatives.
I enjoyed hearing you. You are interested in the future of agriculture and in farm succession, as I am. I would like to hear your thoughts on the compensatory measures proposed and how they have been received by your customers. In addition, can you tell us how these compensatory measures might mean that the future can be secured for farmers?