International Trade committee  We are now working with the federal government on a work plan, that hopefully is going to see some success in terms of regulations that make sense from our industry, and also not duplicate what is going on right now. There's a lot of duplication.

International Trade committee  That and a national agriculture act. If we can get those kinds of things, then CETA will then add to—

International Trade committee  I would support what Mr. Everson said completely. I think it bodes well for future negotiations.

International Trade committee  I think in our experience the European market has been a very discerning, high-value niche kind of market. It's different from other markets for seafood in that they're willing to pay for high quality products and unique products, and that's certainly where we have seen the interest.

International Trade committee  First of all, I think Canada is a larger market for seafood. The United States, in terms of aquaculture products, is quite small. Given the fact that we've already established some good relations, and our products are viewed as high quality, and we have signed the deal first and will be able to take advantage of that, that puts us in a good position compared to the U.S.

International Trade committee  The government doesn't need to invest dollars in our industry. There are investment dollars there waiting to happen. Just to give you an example, I talked to the salmon farming companies that are all members of our organization and asked them what was being invested in the industry worldwide.

International Trade committee  Sorry, could you repeat the question? I only got the end of it.

International Trade committee  As I mentioned, initially the benefits will be that those who are exporting to the EU will increase that activity. However, because our industry has been stalled in production, that really needs to change in order for us to take full advantage of the new market opportunity. There's huge demand.

International Trade committee  What we've done is look at some measured growth in our industry. For example you will see, on the slide here behind you, that within five years we could look at increasing our current jobs of 14,000 to 16,000 jobs and that's without even changing the footprint. Within 10 and 15 years you can see those numbers going up significantly, which again is a combination of production, so jobs on the farms, as well as jobs in the processing sector.

International Trade committee  That hasn't been a barrier to date. It's been the lack of production growth and the tariff rates that have been the issue to date. With a reduction in tariff rates and increased production, I see that as being a very positive market situation.

International Trade committee  The technologies and the industries are very similar. It's such a global industry that what you see happening in Norway is very similar to what you see happening here on the industry side. The difference is that they have a national vision for growth. They have their own legislation that gives them the right framework to move forward.

International Trade committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I really appreciate the opportunity to be here. I'll just say a few words about our association. The Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance is a national industry association here in Ottawa. We represent the interests of Canadian aquaculture operators, feed companies, suppliers, as well as provincial finfish and shellfish associations.

International Trade committee  I have, and it's true.

Fisheries committee  I just want to comment quickly. You mentioned disease and parasites. I think it's important to put aquaculture in a bigger context as well, because any other food-producing system has challenges with regard to disease and parasites. Ninety-eight percent of all the fish that are harvested through aquaculture receive no antibiotics.

Fisheries committee  Could I make a comment on your initial comment about disease and parasites?