International Trade committee  Absolutely.

International Trade committee  Yes, exactly. With the stakes changing dramatically, we would like to receive financial compensation, as the Prime Minister pointed out when the agreement in principle was signed. Even before everything goes into effect, whether in January 2015 or in January 2016 as some authorities prefer, we would like the government to act quickly by providing cheese factories with a budget envelope, as it did in last week's budget when it set aside $500 million for the automobile sector in anticipation of an agreement with South Korea.

International Trade committee  I will focus on the sector I am most familiar with, the artisanal sector. Of course, the impact will vary from one company to another, but the fact remains that most of the 40 companies rely heavily on marketing outside our respective regions. So we must inevitably compete in major markets, including Quebec City, Montreal, Trois-Rivières and Sherbrooke.

International Trade committee  You are absolutely right. That is a very good point. At the end of the day, we are already feeling the impact. However, as I was saying earlier, there was a limit until now. Shopkeepers currently use up 40% to 50% of their stalls for European cheeses. With the products that are going to enter the market, the situation will be dreadful no doubt.

International Trade committee  Okay. I can just list some figures that need to be considered. Canada produces roughly 400 million kg of cheese. Of that, 215 million kg come from Quebec. Quebec produces 32 million kg of fine cheese. The Association des fromagers artisans du Québec produces 800,000 kg of cheese.

International Trade committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Thank you for the opportunity to express myself in French. My presentation today will be a quick rundown of the situation of artisanal cheesemakers. I am the president of the Regroupement des producteurs et transformateurs du Québec, an association made up of approximately 40 companies in Quebec.