International Trade  Mr. Speaker, our government stood firm on supply management even though the Americans wanted to dismantle it. We are currently working with three working groups, producers and processors to ensure that we find the right way to fully and fairly support them. We will also ensure th

International Trade  Mr. Speaker, I completely understand the worries of our farmers. I was in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba last week and the week before to speak with farmers and stakeholders. I can assure members that it is a very high priority for our government. The Canadian Food Inspection

International Trade  Mr. Speaker, I take the canola crisis and the discussions with China very seriously. I have been travelling around western Canada over the past few weeks, meeting with farmers, our partners and our provincial counterparts. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is working with its C

International Trade committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. I thank all the members of the committee for your focus on this very important issue and for calling us here today to address your questions. There is nothing more Canadian than canola. It is a symbol of Canada's scientific achievement and agricultural

International Trade committee  No, I haven't talked to the Chinese ambassador. All of our discussions were science-based and led by the Canadian—

International Trade committee  I've already sent a letter to my counterpart in China to ask for such a delegation. We've had quite a number of discussions between our representatives at the embassy and their counterparts in China. We had two significant scientific technical discussions between our officials at

International Trade committee  My letter asks, and actually the letter of the president of CFIA also asks, for a delegation.

International Trade committee  We have to get to the end of this—

International Trade committee  We are doing that. This is what we are doing. We have been engaging with the stakeholders, with industry, and with farmers since the beginning, since the day after I entered this position. We are really working together in a collaborative manner, and I can tell you that the stake

International Trade committee  The first thing I did was to call the three ministers of the prairie provinces, I think the Wednesday, the day right after this situation started, to make a first connection and to assure them that I was following the situation closely and that I wanted to make sure that we colla

International Trade committee  I've travelled there and I've had the chance to meet with some farmers in many different round tables, so I understand the issue. I understand that this time of the season is particularly difficult for them because they have to make decisions. We have a lot of programs already i

International Trade committee  I strongly believe it's the best way to find a lasting solution actually, because the Chinese are telling us that the issue is that they have found some kind of pest or irregularities in our shipments, and we have taken—as we normally do, or always do—samples and analyzed them be

International Trade committee  I'll let the president of the CFIA answer your question since it's more technical.

International Trade committee  I would say that we are very well aligned. We all agree that we have to protect our brand and protect our system as well. This is why we have created the working group as well. We think it's very important to keep working in a collaborative manner and to share information on a re

International Trade committee  Thank you. Maybe I can start by remembering everyone who is participating in the group: the Canola Council of Canada, the Canadian Canola Growers Association, the two companies involved, Richardson and Viterra, and obviously our federal government, but also our counterparts from