Agriculture committee  We have already rebated a substantial amount to the industry in response to the sanction applied to Russia. The first way of doing it was to make improvements to the Advance Payments Program by increasing the interest-free portion from $100,000 to $250,000. We estimate that over two years, at the present interest rate, approximately $69 million will be repaid to agricultural producers.

Agriculture committee  That is something we considered, but it would not be simple. I'm sure you are very familiar with the sector, Mr. Perron. First, the way the rebate is administered by the various suppliers varies enormously from one to the other. Second, there are reasons why the surtax was imposed, but it is technically not possible to directly rebate every dollar that was paid.

Agriculture committee  Yes, I'm glad to speak about the sustainable CAP because, unfortunately, we haven't had too many opportunities yet. The big news is that we have increased the cost-share portion by $500 million, which is significant. It hasn't been done for a five-year cycle before. It's a good increase.

Agriculture committee  That is definitely a misinterpretation, so I want to reassure you. You know we are very determined to support the Ukrainian people in this war, this unspeakable invasion. We have imposed a number of trade sanctions on Russia and we have taken measures to increase flexibility in trade with Ukraine.

Agriculture committee  Absolutely. In Canada, we hope it will be voluntary.

Agriculture committee  That was a joint statement. For Canada, I repeat that our intention is to emphasize incentives that help producers, in which we have invested $1.5 billion dollars.

Agriculture committee  Thank you. Obviously, global food security was the main issue we were all looking at, trying to see how we can collaborate better to contribute to food security in the world. I thought it was particularly interesting to see how much we talked about farmers' livelihoods. It was obvious we were all there to talk about global food security.

Agriculture committee  Thank you. This is an important question. I have more and more conversations on this issue. Actually, when I was in Paris, I took the opportunity to speak with the head of the World Organisation for Animal Health to seek her advice. For now we're still collaborating on the joint vaccine bank, but I understand that it would be....

Agriculture committee  As you know, our government supports science and innovation, and I strongly believe that gene-editing development and innovation is important for the industry. At the same time, I just want to make sure that we do it in the correct way and we protect the integrity of the organic sector.

Agriculture committee  For the carbon tax rebate, nine out of ten families are receiving more than what they paid as the price for pollution. Because farms are businesses, that is obviously a different issue.

Agriculture committee  Most farms are incorporated. I know there are farms...

Agriculture committee  It is important to distinguish between family and business. When we talk about families, nine out of ten families are getting more money. For farm families that are not incorporated, I do not have precise information. However, I wanted to distinguish between the families and the businesses.

Agriculture committee  I am not able to give you the exact figure.

Agriculture committee  At present, the climate crisis is certainly the biggest threat for the agriculture sector and global food security. On that subject, we need only think of last summer's droughts in the Prairies, the floods in British Columbia and the hurricanes in the Atlantic. That is actually the biggest threat.

Agriculture committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. We are here today to discuss the second round of supplementary estimates for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Our investments under supplementary estimates (B) are one more proof that our government is taking action to help farmers and food processors, who have faced many challenges over the past year.