Thank you very much.
I appreciate this opportunity to express our point of view on the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement.
Our organization, Les Éleveurs de volailles du Québec, brings together 814 chicken and turkey producers in Quebec. In Quebec alone, our industry employs 25,000 people, accounting for nearly $2 billion of Quebec's GDP.
Our organization understands that the signing of a trade agreement like the TPP means major economic spinoffs for Canada. And we have always supported the initiative. At the same time, we have a supply management system, and we've been consistent in our requests that the Canadian government limit the damage that the TPP could cause to supply management.
Canada imports much more chicken than the countries that have ratified the TPP, including the United States. That has an impact on the prospects those these countries can offer. We feel there's a question of fairness here. It's important that the environment in which the agreement is implemented be fair. If the agreement that has been signed is ratified, foreign access to our chicken market is expected to increase from 7.5% to 9.6%. For turkeys, it will increase from 3.5% to 5.5%. This additional access will have major economic consequences for Quebec and Canadian poultry farmers. It could result in the loss of 2,600 jobs and cut $175 million from our GDP.
That would clearly be a major blow to the poultry industry in Quebec, and all other parts of Canada. But the problem could be attenuated by eliminating the circumvention of import controls and implementing a compensation package.
Agriculture Canada announced such measures on October 5, 2015. Specifically, the government announced safeguards and much more stringent border controls. In fact, if those controls are applied, the financial impact on Canadians will be much less serious.