Agriculture committee  I'm not sure how to answer that. I guess to the first point, do we have an overabundance of fruit? My understanding is that we probably don't have enough. I've talked to retailers who have said they struggle to get enough B.C.-produced apples. I'm pro free trade. I think it's

Agriculture committee  Outside of North America? No. Again, a significant amount of our business is our apple juice. I think our supply of apples is quite different depending on the crop year. We can see swings of 50% in tonnage available from Canada, but I would say that in a strong crop year in Can

Agriculture committee  I wouldn't have visibility to those numbers. I know that the eastern-based company Lassonde is also an apple processor and would be a large consumer of apples in that part of the world. But beyond that, we are the only two companies I'm aware of that are using locally grown fruit

Agriculture committee  I don't have a figure, but it would be significant, because, quite frankly, there are not enough apples and other fruit products grown in Canada to support the demand for product. I assume other manufacturers are relying 100% on imported concentrates.

Agriculture committee  Again, I think our requests would have to be pragmatic. What we ask for Sun-Rype has to be a good investment for Canada and something that creates jobs. Number one on my list is support for innovation. I think innovative food companies have the ability to grow beyond Canada, to g

Agriculture committee  My view is that if there's going to be deregulation, you need to make sure there is an equal playing field in North America, which I don't believe is the case today. I think it would negatively impact many food processors in Canada. I'm not sure it would have a significant impac

Agriculture committee  Correct.

Agriculture committee  Because our apple juice is not from concentrate, we're a little bit unique in that we rely on fresh apples. We are contracted in British Columbia for 100% of the process-grade apples, so we're an important revenue stream for the growers in the Okanagan. The growers are also str

Agriculture committee  Yes, I'd say that's a great idea, and it's important for two reasons. Not only is it good for jobs in Canada, but it's really good for the environment. When I look at the global food chain—I mentioned the product I saw being imported all the way from Poland—I don't understand w

Agriculture committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Hopefully everyone can hear me all right at that end.

Agriculture committee  I certainly appreciate the opportunity to speak with the standing committee today about our industry. For those of you not from western Canada, I thought I'd take a little bit of time to talk about Sun-Rype. If you're from western Canada, you're probably quite familiar with our b

Agriculture committee  When Sun-Rype commercialized this process in the early 1990s, we were the only company globally making 100% pure fruit snacks on a commercial scale.

Agriculture committee  Yes.

Agriculture committee  Okay. Sun-Rype was recently selected as one of three companies to receive a Grant Thornton food industry leadership award, given to companies that embody the spirit of leadership, innovation, and business success. Innovation is clearly in our DNA and Sun-Rype is aligned with Ag