Evidence of meeting #36 for International Trade in the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was companies.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Conservative
Jason Groleau Conservative Beauce, QC
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Mr. Roy, welcome back to the committee. It's always a pleasure to welcome a witness from the most beautiful region in Canada—Beauce, of course.
Last year, the government announced that it was removing tariff barriers. They still exist—they're still very much in place—but they do have somewhat less of an impact on the pork sector.
What can we do to help our producers in Beauce?
Chair, Canadian Pork Council
I'm going to stray a bit from the topic of Bill C‑5.
A problem in our region was highlighted last week during a press conference on the problematic issue of foreign workers in the agricultural sector. We have coverage; we're fine. However, when our agri-food processing sector is affected by cuts to foreign workers, we feel the impact.
Here's a very concrete example. The Olymel plant in Vallée-Jonction faced cutbacks and labour shortages. It was forced to close a slaughterhouse. In our region, several producers have shut down and ceased production.
Conservative
Conservative
Jason Groleau Conservative Beauce, QC
This problem isn't limited to the agricultural sector; it's clearly present across all manufacturing sectors.
Chair, Canadian Pork Council
Let me add something. I'll speak as a producer: It's disastrous to dismantle an industrial network that was built up over decades.
Conservative
Chair, Canadian Pork Council
I don't have all the details, but it would be advisable for certain people and levels of government to communicate more with one another and find solutions that, I believe, could be quite pragmatic and have a direct impact on our economy.
Conservative
Jason Groleau Conservative Beauce, QC
Before getting back to the issue at hand, 1,500 workers are leaving our Beauce region. That represents half a billion dollars in annual revenue for our businesses. That's significant.
In your remarks, you mentioned Northern Farms in Ontario and their expansion issues. Could you please explain the problem briefly?
Chair, Canadian Pork Council
I just want to point out that after Olymel closed its slaughterhouses in Quebec, Ontario producers had to redirect their pig production and shipments from Quebec to the United States. That's unfortunate, because we lost added value.
Some producers took matters into their own hands and purchased a processing plant to enable processing in Ontario. However, they face regulatory challenges and a lack of government support. In fact, the government said it would be there, but currently, it is not. Politicians made promises, but the government apparatus is struggling to deliver and meet this demand on the ground.
As a result, the company is having trouble achieving its goal, which is to reach a level that requires federal inspection.
Conservative
Jason Groleau Conservative Beauce, QC
Earlier, you mentioned workers and labour. Is there a possibility of labour exchanges and ensuring labour mobility between provinces? Is that a problem for you?
Chair, Canadian Pork Council
In my humble opinion, based on what I know, the challenge isn't so much about exchanges, because the agricultural sector is quite a small market. There aren't many workers, and there's also a language issue.
I believe access to foreign workers should be provided, as well as a pathway to citizenship for them, because if Canada is able to feed its population, it reasserts its sovereignty as a country.
Conservative
Jason Groleau Conservative Beauce, QC
It's not easy to find people who speak the Beauceron dialect. They're few and far between.
Mr. Viel—
Conservative
Jason Groleau Conservative Beauce, QC
—I have a quick question for you.
Why has it been easier for years to do business north-south than east-west? Can you explain that to me?
President and Chief Executive Officer, Québec International
Since you're from Beauce, you know that you've long been involved in forging north-south relationships. I am not from Saint-Jules—Mr. Roy's hometown—but I simply want to say that we have ties with the United States.
On top of that, people from many families have moved to the United States and made initial contacts through family ties.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Judy Sgro
Thank you very much, Mr. Viel.
We'll move to Ms. Acan, please, for five minutes.
Liberal
Sima Acan Liberal Oakville West, ON
Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
Mr. Roy, earlier this year you highlighted the importance of collaboration among government, producers and processors in maintaining Canada's strong food safety reputation, and that is exactly the kind of partnership we want to build on as the government.
As we move forward with internal trade reforms, how do you see the right balance between reducing barriers within Canada and protecting the inspection systems and on-farm standards that are essential for maintaining access to export markets?
Chair, Canadian Pork Council
Thank you for the question.
I would like to stress the fact that there is a need for provincially inspected plants. Our question is not there. It is when it is time to make trade interprovincial. We do not question the reality on the ground that there is a market that is serviced by those little—most of the time—processing plants, especially in communities that are far from the large centres.
Our objective is to make sure that we keep the trust. To make sure that we keep this trust, we have to keep a standard that will allow the interprovincial trade to upgrade to the same standard as the federally inspected plant. If we do this, we will create confidence not only for our consumers but also internationally, because if there were an erosion of interprovincial trade and, after exportation of this meat, there would be substandard levels of food security, then it could create a major issue for the confidence of our international partners.
Liberal
Sima Acan Liberal Oakville West, ON
In my own previous line of work, I was supplying products to manufacturers within the pork industry. I saw first-hand how critical quality control, traceability and consistency are, and not just for compliance but also for maintaining the trust across the entire supply chain. From your perspective, do the current measures under Bill C-5 provide enough certainty to preserve those standards in the pork sector, or are there still gaps that need to be addressed? Do you want to add anything on top of your answer?
Chair, Canadian Pork Council
The only thing I would add at this point is that with 94% of our processing federally inspected, we are confident that the marginal part could continue to trade within the province.
We know there are some provinces that are requesting an opening, but there is a discussion that could happen among provinces too. It's not only the federal level that is taking care of everything under the umbrella. It can also be within provinces, but my understanding is that they will have to upgrade their standards if they wish to trade.
Liberal
Sima Acan Liberal Oakville West, ON
Thank you.
In Burlington, which is adjacent to my riding of Oakville West, Fearmans Pork is the largest pork-processing facility in Ontario, processing upwards of 45,000 hogs per week and serving markets across Ontario but also selling to the eastern United States. We see first-hand the scale of operations like this and how dependent they are on efficient transportation networks to move their products across provinces and to export into markets. That volume generates significant truck traffic and relies heavily on the efficiency of local and regional transportation corridors.
With federal investments like the trade diversification corridors fund, do you see a real opportunity to strengthen logistics infrastructure for major agri-food hubs? If those transportation corridors were improved, what kind of economic impact would that have on the pork sector?
