Agriculture committee  We're working hard on it.

Agriculture committee  My commitment today, which I'll reiterate, is that we will provide an answer to the poultry and egg producers before the end of the year on how much we will give them in compensation under CETA and CPTPP and what types of programs will be put in place.

Agriculture committee  Well, a government always speaks in fiscal years, but....

Agriculture committee  We will get to the end of the week, and I'm hopeful we will be able to make significant changes to AgriStability. Obviously, to do that I need two-thirds of the provinces to agree, to join. When I say two-thirds, I mean it's based on the level of participation of their farmers in the program.

Agriculture committee  Well, you understand that I don't want to open my negotiation a day before the negotiation.

Agriculture committee  I totally agree with you and acknowledge what you are saying. This is why we have put in place an emergency fund for the food banks of $200 million. It has been distributed in a very efficient way through five major partners that have networks all across the country. I've also recently announced a little special fund of $2.3 million for the remote communities that were not connected to one of these networks.

Agriculture committee  We're as committed to processors as we are to producers. We realize that the last three free-trade agreements signed have had an impact on them. In addition, when we help processors, we're also helping producers. I'm aware of the situation, Mr. Perron. We're going to honour our commitment to processors too.

Agriculture committee  We have committed to providing a clear response to egg and poultry producers regarding compensation for the first two agreements, the one with Europe and the other with the trans-Pacific zone. Consequently, we'll inform them of the compensation amount and the model or form the compensation programs will take during the current year.

Agriculture committee  The bill you've introduced has to be carefully studied. Our commitment is firm. We've said so and we repeat: we don't want to give up any further share in markets under supply management in future agreements. You saw what we did with the United Kingdom. However, I think we should discuss this a little more to ensure that other agricultural sectors don't suffer any collateral damage.

Agriculture committee  Thank you for the question. Canada is a very large country, a great agricultural and agri-food producer. We have the capacity to produce food not only for Canadians, but for people in many other countries. We feed the world, to some degree. As you well know, the federal government's main responsibilities revolve around international trade, research and innovation, and assistance to producers.

Agriculture committee  I'd say that the most significant measure in the COVID-19 context was the $200 million increase in the Canadian Dairy Commission's borrowing limit. This helped it buy more butter and cheese, for example, and manage the supply management system. That's precisely its purpose: it has the ability to adapt supply and demand to a certain degree.

Agriculture committee  One can always hope. However, we've made a firm commitment, Mr. Perron: we're going to pay out the second instalment to dairy producers this year. I'm sure you understand that, if I could announce it, it would already be done, but we still have a few items to finalize. I'll give you more specific details at the appropriate time.

Agriculture committee  I made sure that it was a topic on our agenda because it's an important issue. We have to understand and respect the jurisdiction of the federal government and the provinces. I'm really looking forward to defining a road map together, a way of collaborating that will be effective for the coming weeks and months.

Agriculture committee  Thank you. At the start of the pandemic, when the border was closed, we were all extremely concerned. We know just how important foreign workers are to food security in Canada. I worked with my colleague the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship and my colleague the Minister of Labour.

Agriculture committee  Thank you for the question, Mr. Lehoux. You have summed up the situation very well. Indeed, we announced $1.75 billion to dairy producers over an eight-year period. The first payment was made less than 12 months ago and we have committed to making the second payment as soon as possible this year, that is, 2020-21.