International Trade committee  I'm John Ross and I'm the executive director of the Canadian Pork Council. I'm pleased to speak on behalf of Canada's pork producers and the 31,000 jobs that are generated on our farms. I would like to thank the committee for the invitation to discuss the Trans-Pacific Partnersh

International Trade committee  Yes, we can certainly provide you with the report.

International Trade committee  Thank you very much. Certainly, the majority of Canadian farmers at large are fully dependent on the export market and it really is what drives the business. We're a small country, but we have tremendous potential to provide really high-end products to the global marketplace.

International Trade committee  I don't know if I could give you a reasonable price effect directly. We, of course, arbitrage with the United States on a daily basis and the ability to move grain into the Canadian marketplace is there. It exists. The challenge for us is if we get offside with our TPP, either in

International Trade committee  Certainly, the vast majority of production would be in Quebec, Ontario, and Manitoba, about a third each. The remainder are in the rest of Canada.

International Trade committee  Quite frankly, no. We do it every day now and we've not pushed the envelope where we can't do more. Obviously, if there are work stoppages and some anomalies out there, it would be a problem; but, no, we're fine.

International Trade committee  Not on the transportation side. We're not seeing it there. There may be some other challenges out there, but so far that's not one of them, touch wood.

International Trade committee  Let me step back. China is an extraordinary market for us with tremendous potential. The Chinese pork market, as we speak today, is supporting global markets as it deals with restrictions in Russia and the like. The degree to which we can either encourage the Chinese to join TPP

International Trade committee  There is, and we specifically look to Vietnam as an opportunity for tremendous growth in the short run.

Agriculture committee  We're talking about both spaces and the risk is associated with either product. A processed feed like soy meal is different from what we would see with a whole grain, if we're just importing the soybean directly. The import controls that the Food Inspection Agency has brought fo

Agriculture committee  Largely, it's organic feed that's being brought in.

Agriculture committee  You will have the benefit of Dr. Komal, who will be here in about 60 minutes. He'll be able to answer your questions specifically. What we've seen and been most encouraged by is that when a suspect sample comes into a animal health laboratory, exactly the same testing protocol

Agriculture committee  The eradication of wild boar is going to be a many-year process, depending on the province. I think the population is such in Quebec and Ontario that it might be eradicated quite quickly. They have a little bit more of an extensive range in western Canada. It's going to be a litt

Agriculture committee  Perhaps, more importantly, in Alberta they've actually managed to keep them out as well.

Agriculture committee  I just want to add that the amount of production capacity that China has lost exceeds total global pork exports. The loss is so vast that it couldn't be made up by all global exporters combined.