Agriculture committee  It is very important to realize, right here and now, that we are all Canadians. Whether we are elected members, voters, farmers or processors, we are all Canadian. When the regulations are wrong and allow someone to import products from outside Canada, repackage them or process t

Agriculture committee  In response to Mr. Asselin's comments, I want to say that we are Canadian producers. Our processing plants are Canadian, they distribute their products primarily in Canada, and they export their products as well. The reason we want to identify our products using the “Canada Brand

Agriculture committee  In terms of how easy this may or may not be, I have to say that in the vegetable industry, there are also certain complexities, because some vegetables are whole, but mixed vegetables are also sold and may contain ingredients from outside Canada. If the vegetable mixture is made

Agriculture committee  To my knowledge, the current policy definition goes back to the 1970s, which means that is 40 years old.

Agriculture committee  Yes, that is basically our take on this. It's possible that we just let this issue gather dust but, at the same time, an entire agri-food trade has developed that didn't exist 40 years ago. The GATT agreements, the WTO agreements, emerging countries, and products from China, Indi

Agriculture committee  Yes, and I think we need to adapt.

Agriculture committee  Well, she referred to 80 per cent, but our approach is somewhat different. These are things that will certainly have to be modulated when the regulations are finalized. What we are saying is that the raw materials used for the product to be sold must be of Canadian origin. The Pr

Agriculture committee  Yes, and the policy has to remain credible.

Agriculture committee  If we start playing around with percentages, and the consumer has the feeling that there is no consistency, and that there are exceptions, at that point, the definition will cease to be credible and we will not have made any progress whatsoever.

Agriculture committee  It makes no sense to consider a single label. You talked about jobs, and we also believe that the manufacturing industry generates significant numbers of jobs that need to be protected. That is why we think there should be several different labels. As far as we are concerned, Ms.

Agriculture committee  Is it too fast?

Agriculture committee  So maybe I will be able to have 12 minutes, rather than 10. That's what I think. Okay, let's go for that agreement. So, it is indispensable to review Canadian designations used in labelling, in order to adapt them to today's realities. The current definition of “Product of Cana

Agriculture committee  Good morning, everyone. The Fédération des producteurs de fruits et légumes de transformation administers the Joint Plan of Producers of Vegetables for Processing. The vegetables covered under the joint plan are green peas, yellow and green beans, sweet corn and cucumbers. We re

Agriculture committee  Our vegetables are delivered to industry firms to be processed—either frozen, canned or marinated. In Canada, that represents 20 per cent of cucumber production, 30 per cent of sweet corn and peas, and 60 per cent of beans. Of course, globalization, coupled with the weakness of