Agriculture committee  The exports continue to be strong. We have to remember that, in Canada, over the last six months or so, we've had a short crop. We've had production reduced by about 40%. We talked about the food-versus-fuel issue. A lot of our production, now, is being called for by the biofue

Agriculture committee  I don't think it's necessarily a question of exporters' profits being increased by that 50%, 60% or more that you're seeing. What we're doing is selling and buying at.... The selling price of the commodity matches, to a large extent, the purchase price we have to pay to be able t

Agriculture committee  As you mentioned, it's all about balance. Despite our best intentions, we need to be realistic about what we can do in every region and what the most effective way is to provide those populations with the food they need. In some places, the challenges can revolve around geograph

Agriculture committee  As far as rail goes, the Western Grain Elevator Association and others have made a number of recommendations, so I would encourage you to take a look at those. That said, we need to improve the level of rail performance. It may be a good idea to consider increased competition.

Agriculture committee  Yes, that is definitely something we recommend. It's crucial to understand how important good infrastructure is, not only to meet current needs, but also to be able to seize future opportunities. That type of work is a huge undertaking, and it can't be done overnight. These proje

Agriculture committee  Yes, that's right. We nearly doubled our terminal capacity seven or so years ago. A number of our competitors with grain elevators at their Vancouver port facilities actually did the same thing. The industry has made significant investments in infrastructure.

Agriculture committee  The grain elevator at our port terminal facilities in Vancouver could accommodate twice as much grain coming in by rail. We have a lot of unused capacity.

Agriculture committee  Let me start with the infrastructure and the pinch points. Again, the rail issues that we've seen over the last number of years are chronic. There is a capacity issue in rail service. On that capacity, when we have something like forest fires and washouts, etc., those limitations

Agriculture committee  I think some of them have been touched on previously: things like a blanket reduction of fertilizer use by 25%. Without making the connection of what that will mean with respect to agricultural output, making a connection and understanding what the purpose or objective is, which

Agriculture committee  One of the benefits of canola is that canola oil is recognized as being very high in nutrients. That's a huge advantage. I would also say that canola oil is largely produced in an environmentally responsible way. We compared the system we use for the production of canola oil with

Agriculture committee  I agree. I think the demand for grains and oilseeds to be used as fuel obviously adds a new consumption source, and that can only have an impact on price, so the market will sort out where it ought to go. Food should win. People need to eat. There would naturally be, then, an inc

Agriculture committee  Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. My name is Jean‑Marc Ruest, and I am the senior vice-president of corporate affairs and general counsel at Richardson International Limited. I truly appreciate the opportunity to appear before you today. I'm very honoured

International Trade committee  Things like this certainly put a chill on the market. I think the relationship that we have with our customers continues to be good. We have a good relationship with long-standing Chinese customers. Our customers don't have quality concerns with our shipments—in the past, or wit

International Trade committee  Once we get to the point that we have absolutely ruled out the technical issues, then the matter becomes a political one to be resolved. Maybe there are issues that require high-level political discussions simply to avoid having the types of delays and disruptions that occur from

International Trade committee  No, we're very comfortable that the test results, the sampling at time of load, would have been representative of the quality of the cargos as they arrive at destination.