Agriculture committee  We're finding that in some sectors—and I guess this is happening a lot in our economy—as the generation that I'm part of is retiring and so on, finding the replacements for these people.... Regulatory veterinarians are not quite as common as they once were coming out of veterinar

Agriculture committee  Brian, you've maybe had more experience with this.

Agriculture committee  I would add one quick thing. From my experience in the pork industry—and I know this is in cereals, crops, and other sectors as well—I know that we have this high reputation, deservedly so, for health and safety. We sometimes find ourselves having to show that we have done work t

Agriculture committee  Indeed, the MAS was an innovation, I'm not sure if it was even as many as 10 years ago, to try to bridge across the different segments of the federal government. I think at one time it was felt that maybe we could have a single department of agrifood, which would bring in the res

Agriculture committee  From my time spent in the pork industry, we did have some linkages with Brazil, and in just a few years they became a fairly significant competitor of Canada, particularly in the Russian market. They certainly have some considerable advantages in climate, which allows them to not

Agriculture committee  Certainly, there is a cyclical element to it. My personal experience has been more in the meat sector, but I think it's common throughout agriculture where, if you have an industry that's been used to having protection of some sort and hasn't been world market oriented.... I th

Agriculture committee  Maybe I'll start and either Mr. Paszkowski or Mr. Innes can jump in. A really important aspect of this is the relationship that we have with the governments in those countries, so that we can react at an early stage when we hear of new measures. Usually there is information comi

Agriculture committee  I'll just say that I think our eyes and ears in these countries is through the embassies. Their relationship with the governments in those countries is really critical to get in on this before it gets too far. I don't know if there are any other comments that my colleagues would

Agriculture committee  Thank you, committee. I'm very pleased today to be joined by our president, Brian Innes. We're here to address the subject of non-tariff import barriers facing our agriculture and agrifood exporters and how those are linked to free trade agreements. I would like to begin by com