Agriculture committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I would first like to thank you for inviting us to participate in this study on agriculture in Canada. I would like to introduce Laurier Busque, a former professor from the University of Ottawa. I am the President of Les AmiEs de la Terre de l’Es

Agriculture committee  Thank you. It would be interesting for the members of the committee to try to picture the future. We have to go back to the foundation of agriculture, which is to feed the community. If we have a surplus, it is easy to sell abroad. But right now, we are selling what we have too m

Agriculture committee  With the exception of Saskatchewan that has a lot of them, local communities used to be able to sustain themselves in the past. Actually, our dependence on export or import makes us slightly more vulnerable. We have put our resources aside and we choose to focus on exports becaus

Agriculture committee  If I may, I would like to say that the major challenge in agriculture is that our producers are no longer used to producing all year round in order to sell their products to major supermarkets, or large markets, such as hospitals. In Sherbrooke's Marché de solidarité régionale, w

Agriculture committee  The Marché de solidarité régionale— It's market online.

Agriculture committee  Yes. We've been doing that for the last six years. I'm sorry, I am going to speak to you in French.

Agriculture committee  This year, we are celebrating our sixth anniversary. We have a small market in the City of Sherbrooke. Producers make around $3 million in six years. So we make $500,000 a year, which is enough to keep six sheep and beef producers. And we have grass-fed beef. We pay attention to

Agriculture committee  Local producers should not be penalized.

Agriculture committee  There is no problem with that. Both can definitely survive and thrive together. However, genetically-modified crops can contaminate the productions of local producers who don't use that method. The popularity of local markets or local products—

Agriculture committee  That depends on the regulations in place. If that forces us to lower our standards... We are already below certain regulatory standards. If markets are open—

Agriculture committee  It is all a matter of dependence. In rural areas where farming is more developed and people are in direct contact with a producer who provides beef or various other products, they will be able to survive a while longer. However, in cities—and I am thinking of the situation in She

Agriculture committee  Some of them immigrated to Quebec. Those who did not die immigrated.

Agriculture committee  That is what sells, whether we are talking about small- or large-scale agriculture. I think we'll have two systems that will become distinct in time. Those systems should not be contaminated. That is all I'll say on the topic.

Agriculture committee  That is why public markets and solidarity markets are important. Our markets provide great variety. People can buy a type of carrot called the “crotte”. They can buy a blue potato whose name escapes me. Do you understand? We have a great variety of products available. Our local p

Agriculture committee  That is a broad topic. In terms of democracy and our food, GMO labelling—or the presence of GMOs—becomes a concern. That concern is not due to the fact that GMOs are present, but rather to the fact that they are concealed. Relevant studies are secret; we have no access to them.