Agriculture committee  We're analyzing that. We have to comply with the workforce adjustment directive that the government has put in place to provide benefits and assistance to any employees. It gives them options as to how they move forward. As soon as we can make that information available to you, we will.

Agriculture committee  We have a good contingency of seasonal workers in Churchill. Because we will still be doing outward inspection, there may be opportunities for many of them to continue to work with the commission.

Agriculture committee  Thank you, Mr. Hoback. We sent out a letter of engagement to producer organizations, industry stakeholders, the grain companies, and our licensees. It was very broad. We got an excellent response. I should have had those numbers at my fingertips. Something in the neighbourhood of 70 organizations strikes me, but I could be out a little.

Agriculture committee  I'm happy to do that. We have very professional grain inspectors located at all the ports where vessels are loaded with grain for export from Canada. The major west coast terminals are Vancouver and Prince Rupert. We have a large component of staff at Thunder Bay, where they inspect grain on salties and on lakers.

Agriculture committee  Every car that we inspected before our user fees changed was approximately $25 or $26, and there are thousands and thousands of railcars of grain unloaded every year. Remember that this cost was far below our actual costs, so in fact every time we charged that $25 we were undercharging for the service, for the cost of what we were providing.

Agriculture committee  It's an excellent question. Obviously, we have concerns about whether this act will work, and that's why we did an extensive engagement with the industry before it came before Parliament. You are correct; the footprints of the CGC will be smaller after this act comes into force.

Agriculture committee  Thank you, Mr. Valeriote. Excellent questions. Yes, in the previous consultation we did on user fees, the issue of public good versus private benefit was hotly debated by our stakeholders. I think most recognize that there is an element of public good. I'm getting a little bit off the topic here because now I'm getting into the user fees rather than the amendments, but they are supposed to marry up here, so I think that is relevant.

Agriculture committee  When I got to the commission, I did a little bit of research to find out what issues the commission had been dealing with prior to my arrival, and I found the issue of inward inspection preceded my appearance at the commission by many years. The issue of whether in fact it was a necessary service had been debated for a long time.

Agriculture committee  All exporters desire to have a quality assurance system. Quite frankly, in my opinion, Canada has probably the best in the world. What that means is that when customers buy Canadian grain, they are confident, when they put the order in with the specs and the grades or whatever they choose to put in the contract, that when they actually receive the grain, it will mill and perform just as they expect it to.

Agriculture committee  That is determined through the work of our grain research lab and by the work we do at outward inspection. Outward inspection is when we inspect the grain that is going onto the vessels. That's to make sure we comply with the regulations different countries have. A company might want to sell grain to another company in another country and isn't too fussy about it.

Agriculture committee  First of all, we are currently monitoring grain, and we will continue to monitor grain. The amendments proposed in this act do not change our role in monitoring grain. What will no longer occur is mandatory inward inspection, which now can be provided if the companies involved ask for it from a third party.

Agriculture committee  The current consultation, which commenced on November 1, is not to review the content of this bill, but rather to review our user fees, which will now complement the services that will be provided upon the passage of this bill. The actual consultation will take place for about a month.

Agriculture committee  The biggest advantage would be that it takes the cost out of the system. When you are mandated to inspect every tonne of grain unloaded from railcars at all ports in Canada, it's a pretty hefty bill. There are some other costs associated with inward inspection, as I mentioned in my comments, that could also be eliminated.

Agriculture committee  Thank you, Ms. Ashton, for your comments and your question. The question is whether we considered optional inward inspection by the CGC. First of all, we looked at what inward inspection is. Inward inspection takes place when the railcars are being unloaded into the terminal. In today's modern industry, that doesn't reflect what was required when we had several companies shipping to each other's facilities.

Agriculture committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair, and good evening to the standing committee. We thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. It also brings back some personal memories from some hours that I spent around these tables as well. It's a bit of a walk down memory lane. Before I begin my statement, I'd like to make a few introductions.