International Trade committee  Our market here, in Canada, isn't subsidized, as we often say. That means consumers pay a fair price in relation to the cost of production. When it comes to our ability to compete and exports, it's hard to draw comparisons because other countries' sectors are often subsidized, as are other sectors in Canada.

International Trade committee  As mentioned, we share the costs and expenses, so all the transportation and marketing costs are shared collectively. The cost to access markets and growth is the same for all producers. That's why it's referred to as collective marketing. That model ensures that farms can survive in every region of Quebec.

International Trade committee  Thank you for your question. My fellow witnesses gave some great answers. I talked about supply management earlier. It's about sharing the costs as well as the risks. Those risks are weather-related, but also productivity-related. Mr. Turp touched on this. During the pandemic, we saw how products could be missing from the supply chain.

International Trade committee  Yes, we are very confident. For CUSMA, producers will receive $1.2 billion in direct assistance, and we are certain we will get that money. As Mr. Lampron mentioned, the government made a commitment in the economic statement. What we care about, Mr. Martel, is meeting the needs of the market and producing milk for Canadians.

International Trade committee  Good afternoon, Mr. Martel. Yes, the negotiations happened. We made many representations in the first round of negotiations for compensation, because the government was supposed to announce compensation for the three agreements in that first round. In the end, it announced an initial compensation payment for the impacts of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, or CPTPP, and the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, or CETA, and then another one to finalize the negotiations.

International Trade committee  I don't want to be too alarmist, but we know that 10% of the world's milk production is exported. Canada and Quebec also participate. We produce less milk than the state of Wisconsin, and I can tell you that, without supply management, dairy producers in Canada and Quebec who are far from the major markets and large urban centres would see their farm gate price drop considerably because of the long transportation distances.

International Trade committee  Thank you very much for your question, Mr. Martel. When we talk about collective marketing, it doesn't matter whether the producers are in L'Anse-Saint-Jean, Quebec, or in the north of western Canada, the prices are the same throughout Canada for the work done. This provides a fair price for an efficient producer.

International Trade committee  Good afternoon, members of the committee. My name is Daniel Gobeil, president of the Producteurs de lait du Québec and a dairy farmer in La Baie, Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean. It is clear to me and to the 4,500 dairy producers in Quebec, spread over 14 beautiful regions, that the adoption of Bill C‑282 is essential to the survival and predictability of dairy farms in Quebec and in Canada.

International Trade committee  We heard a lot of entrepreneurs talk about that this morning. In our case, because our sector is under supply management, our businesses grow in accordance with Canadian requirements. However, for two, three or four years now, all opportunities for growth have gone to foreign countries under trade agreements that meet consumer needs.

International Trade committee  Right. We found that there was solid support from several political parties. Of course, we continue to hear lots of promises during election campaigns. This bill would certainly strengthen the parties' commitments to Canada's dairy farmers.

International Trade committee  Thank you, Mr. Lampron. Thank you, Mr. Perron, for your question. Clearly, we are not against trade. The objective of our supply management model is to respond to Canadian market needs. We noticed this when large quotas of cheese were allowed under CETA. It amounted to 17,500 tonnes of European cheese, or 17.7 million kilograms, that would enter Canada with top revenue for dairy farms.

International Trade committee  Thank you, Mr. Lampron. Government compensation can't repair the long-term damage caused by trade agreements. Instead of receiving compensation, dairy farmer families would have preferred to avoid any dairy sector concessions, which would of course have allowed them to benefit from growth in the sector.

International Trade committee  Thank you, Ms. Bendayan. These are very good comments. I talked about promoting the supply management system. As you know and as the federal government knows, this is done through innovation and research, and we need to take advantage of that to find new opportunities, because our consumers are on the lookout for new products.

International Trade committee  There is no doubt that it was well received. These are things you hear a lot during election campaigns. Often, in those circumstances, the four party leaders are very supportive. Having said that, it is now time to move from words to action. For our part, we think it is important to have the support of all political parties.

International Trade committee  Thank you for the question, Mr. Savard-Tremblay. I gave an overview of dairy processing in Quebec. The province is responsible for more than 60% of the country's cheese production. The situation you are describing does in fact worry us. Through the World Trade Organization, or WTO, significant tariff rate quotas are currently granted by the European Union.