Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot for raising this important question.
The Government of Canada strongly supports the supply management system, farmers, their families, and producers. Dairy, egg and poultry producers and processors have strong roots in our economy and also in our regions.
Our supply management system is viewed around the world as a model of stability. The system guarantees fair returns for producers; predictable supply for processors; and high-quality dairy, poultry and egg products for consumers.
The USMCA maintains the three pillars of supply management: production control, pricing mechanism, and import control. The government defended our supply management system against American attacks, and we will not give in. We will continue to defend our national interests and Canadian values, all while supporting our agricultural sector.
Furthermore, our government has invested $2.2 million to implement proAction, a dairy-industry initiative focused on what today's consumers care about, like milk quality and safety, animal health and welfare, and the environment.
In 2018, we provided nearly $3 million to the poultry and egg industries to help them improve their capacity to develop new tools to fight against outbreaks of poultry diseases and become more effective at doing so, as well as to meet the stricter animal welfare, biosafety and food safety standards.
Over the next five years, the federal, provincial and territorial governments will invest $3 billion in the Canadian agricultural industry, including supply-managed sectors.
The Government of Canada is proud to help Canada's dairy, egg and poultry farmers build responsible and sustainable industries. For example, in order to help the dairy industry adapt to CETA, the Government of Canada invested $350 million to enable dairy farmers and processors to modernize, increase productivity and become more competitive.
Since the CPTPP was signed, the Government of Canada has been working with supply-managed industries to help them stay strong. On October 29, the minister announced the creation of new working groups for dairy farmers and processors. These working groups will bring together representatives from Canadian dairy organisations and associations, regional representatives and senior officials from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
The structure of the working groups was determined based on consultations with Canada's dairy farmers and the Dairy Processors Association of Canada. The working groups will develop mitigation strategies to fully and fairly support dairy farmers and processors and help them adapt to the USMCA. They will also discuss what support measures will need to be implemented as a result of the CPTPP's impact.
Evidently, We are currently working with the industry, and we intend to pursue and further develop this collaboration in the future.