Agriculture committee  We did not come here to say that the federal government is not investing in agriculture. We know that it is making interventions. We recognize and we appreciate that fact. As a matter of fact, we came to tell you that we need more flexibility. We are working in a North American e

Agriculture committee  Our data comes from Statistics Canada. We see that the net farm income in Ontario will be negative. In Quebec, it will be slightly positive due to provincial intervention, substantial as it is. This was a matter of speculation. Probably, we were not lucky in recent years. Undoubt

Agriculture committee  The sky is the limit.

Agriculture committee  That is what I mean.

Agriculture committee  We often hear about flexibility. In Quebec, income security programs are based on production costs. As I just said, we must make sure that we provide tools with which we can get the maximum income from the market. That will also take some work. Earlier, we spoke of identifying p

Agriculture committee  This is certainly urgent, not only for the export markets where we face competition, but also with regard to domestic production. The level of debt contracted over the past years will still be with us for several more years. You can see this for yourself because you come from a r

Agriculture committee  Yes. This involves large sums of money, and there is a staggering number of needs that must be met. There has been an influx of money for the Agriculture Policy Framework in Quebec over the past years. If I am not mistaken, it amounts to more than $200 million. Nonetheless, ther

Agriculture committee  A disaster—

Agriculture committee  Yes. It has been difficult to get help this past year to producers who have been dealing with the nematode and have been threatened with bankruptcy. The current program involves mandatory reporting. That is a great thing and it came up when we had the BSE problem. It is certainly

Agriculture committee  Yes, but in order for the money that the government invests in agriculture to be spent properly, it needs to be spent in line with other priorities as well. I can tell you that the need to adapt to federal programs has meant that years have been practically wasted because of the

Agriculture committee  I take it that is not an invitation! We appreciate that Canada is a huge country and one that has diverse agricultural sectors and diverse production frameworks. In Quebec, we have a history of favouring supply management. This means that we operate within a defined framework.

Agriculture committee  Are you asking whether integrated businesses have created economic ties between commodity production and processing? Is that your question?

Agriculture committee  Our primary concern, which ought also to be that of the Department of Agriculture, is to ensure the sustainability of agricultural production. If a farming enterprise is viable and if, over the years, due to a solid economic performance, it can sustain food production, it may wel

Agriculture committee  The most recent generation of programs were essentially characterized by whole farm programming. Farmers have made choices regarding the development of their businesses: some have chosen to set up a hog enterprise alongside a grain company. The objective is very laudable: produce

Agriculture committee  There is also the business risk management component. In our opinion, this is a major pillar that will allow for a real implementation of support measures in the more difficult situations, whether it is a question of one time or recurring problems, so that our Canadian agricultur