International Trade committee  I will briefly talk about your first comment. My grandfather came from Michigan in 1911 and homesteaded. He took the train over here, walked from Edson, which is west of Edmonton, to Grand Prairie, and settled. I live in the exact same spot as his original log cabin. Do we have potential?

International Trade committee  Very much so. Especially for canola, and I'm sure for the other products here as well, we see the Asia-Pacific region as one of the great growth opportunities for our product. As I mentioned earlier, Japan has been buying two million tonnes of canola every year for Lord knows how long, and they will continue to do so.

International Trade committee  I think, yes, ultimately if the TPP fails to be ratified, we need to continue to pursue bilateral agreements with Japan, but also with a suite of countries in that region. Australia is our primary competitor on the canola market, as is Indonesian palm oil and soybeans from the U.S.

International Trade committee  I think it's a very fair comment. Somebody once told me that if a farmer has a dollar, he'll spend the dollar. It supports the rural communities. It supports the Saskatchewan potash mining. It supports the seed development companies in Chatham, in Fort Saskatchewan, and all over western Canada and eastern Canada.

International Trade committee  I believe the Canola Council is one of your witnesses in the Winnipeg session as well.

International Trade committee  I think you've referenced a very important issue. Farmers are the price-takers. We get what's left after everybody in the value chain has taken their nibble. A lot of the issues regarding biotechnology, phytosanitary concerns, or any risk associated with the trade gets carried in the basis, and eventually comes out of what the producer gets at the end of the day.

International Trade committee  If you don't mind, I'll defer to Janelle on that one.

International Trade committee  It's almost like a chronic illness versus an acute illness. Is it going to kill agriculture in Canada? No. But it is going to significantly downgrade it. It's a steady path down to the point where it becomes not economically sustainable for the farmers. Fortunately, it's something we can address through this agreement.

International Trade committee  I think that's certainly the goal. Janelle, can you comment on that further?

International Trade committee  On the biotechnology end of things, one of the more recent traits is a stack of traits for herbicide resistence, and the approval process is required in many different countries. Japan, Mexico, the U.S., and China, being our four core areas, currently all have to have synchronized approvals before something can be brought to market.

International Trade committee  Yes. It delays implementation of those technologies. As important is the MRL issue for crop protection products. Again, it comes down to synchronization in the world markets of how the approvals are in place. One country can have an approval; another one doesn't. As a commodity market in Canada, we sell a blended stream, so that boat could be going to Japan or to China.

International Trade committee  I would say we are well positioned. Land is land. They're not making any more of it and that's why it's such a great investment for all sorts of pension funds and—

International Trade committee  As far as canola is concerned, we have a strategic plan of 25 million by 2025. Very little of that plan has to do with land. Most of it is about efficiency, about adopting technology so that we can get more productivity out of the same land. I would suggest that our biggest impediment right now is our transportation system.

International Trade committee  If I might add, it's not necessarily the number of jobs but the quality of the jobs. The processing of canola is completed in a refinery-type setting. It's process equipment. These are highly technical, well-paid positions. We are not talking about menial work, we're talking about jobs where a single job could support a family in a reasonable lifestyle, which I think is a good testament.

International Trade committee  As far as high-value countries are concerned, the perspective we like to take with canola is that we are a high-value product. We compete favourably, with our health profile quality, with a lot of the oilseeds and vegetable oil products out in the world. Japan is certainly a high-value country, but it is also a very stable country.