Madam Speaker, in the NAFTA 2.0 file, the Liberals failed dairy farmers. They failed chicken farmers. They failed egg farmers. They failed turkey farmers. They failed our SMEs. They failed to defend our food sovereignty and territorial autonomy. They failed our local farmers. They failed our family farms. Lastly, they failed Quebec.
Simply put, the Liberals signed a bad deal. I am not the only one who thinks so. All stakeholders agree.
I want to read some of their comments.
The Coop fédérée said:
By ratifying an agreement that will create new breaches in the tariff barriers protecting supply-managed sectors, the government is not giving full recognition to the agriculture and agrifood sectors for their contribution to the economic and social development of Canada and its regions.
Yvon Boucher, president of the Producteurs de lait de Montérégie-Est, said:
We feel betrayed by this government, which promised us that there would be no impact on dairy production, that it would not sign a deal that would have negative consequences for us. Now we see from the result that this was completely untrue. We have lost faith in this government.
Pierre-Luc Leblanc, president of Éleveurs de volailles du Québec, said that since the Liberals' new agreement, millions of tonnes of American chicken, eggs and turkey are poised to enter the Canadian market. He says that this may seem like no big deal now, but in five or 10 years this could further jeopardize poultry producers. Poultry producers are surprised and disappointed in this agreement and want compensatory measures from the government.
Jacques Demers, president of the Fédération québécoise des municipalités, said:
This agreement is harmful not only for dairy producers in Quebec, but also for every region in Quebec. We are talking about hundreds of rural communities whose economies have been compromised.
I could go on and on.
I commend the courage of the hundreds of farmers who called out the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food during a demonstration in Montérégie, and especially the farmers from my riding who gathered in Granby to express their displeasure. Dairy farmers from the RCMs of Maskoutains and Acton were there to discuss their situation.
Charles Graveline has a herd of 325 dairy cows in Saint-Jude. Mr. Graveline, who is a father of three and seventh-generation farmer, is saying that the government talks about financial compensation, but it will never measure up to the losses farmers are going to suffer. He believes that each farm is going to lose tens of thousands of dollars. This dairy farmer from my region expects to see a shortfall of between $150,000 and $180,000 annually. How could this government have done that to our farmers? How can they continue to claim that they signed a good agreement?
Marie-Pier Vincent, a young farmer from Saint-Valérien, started up a dairy farm two and a half year ago. Her operation has 40 dairy cows. She is worried about her future. She has said that this agreement will be very harmful to her and will jeopardize the entire future of her business. By opening up another breach, the government has just sacrificed an entire generation. Young farmers are worried, and with good reason, unfortunately. We know very little about compensation at the moment, apart from the Liberal promise that it will be paid out before Christmas.
In light of all these concerns and observations, how can the government say it signed a good agreement?