Agriculture committee  There's certainly the issue of specified risk material, or SRM. The carcass value in Canada is a legacy of the situation related to what is commonly referred to as “mad cow disease”. I'm guessing everyone remembers it. Right now, we're getting a value that's close to what Americans can get.

Agriculture committee  That's right.

Agriculture committee  It's about how you dispose of the carcass. In Canada, you can't add value to certain parts. There are even costs associated with the disposal of certain parts of the carcass, which has a negative impact on yield. So there's a very fine line between making money and losing money.

Agriculture committee  I feel the costs will be tremendous. As we are seeing in many industries, a productivity gap is widening between businesses that are taking the plunge and those that are not. I can't predict the future, but the businesses that are succeeding right now are the ones bringing robotics into their factories.

Agriculture committee  A few big players decided that they were going to pay as little as possible for raw materials. Right now, everyone is investing to rebuild slaughter capacity in North America. However, the big players now have an incredible profit margin because—

Agriculture committee  I'm thinking about regulations, labour, and so on, but I think the most urgent thing is to get the technology shift right. If we don't invest massively and take the necessary steps to do so, I think it will be dramatic, and we'll see the results in five years. That's my main fear.

Agriculture committee  The more we advance in this project, actually.... Can I answer in French? Will you understand if I answer in French? Okay. The more this project progresses, the more we discover the margins that are hidden everywhere, all along the value chain. By taking into account all these small margins that are being added and by coordinating the industry more and more closely, we are succeeding in lowering the price to the consumer to make it more competitive.

Agriculture committee  No, I hadn't finished. Getting people to work together is the key. Since this is my sector, I'll use the example what one of the Canadian Beef representatives said last year. They can probably be applied elsewhere, too. He said that the beef industry had never been more unstructured, that getting people to work together was a challenge, but it's the key.

Agriculture committee  Distinguished parliamentarians, I would like to begin by thanking you for this invitation. I'm honoured, excited even. I love the level of consideration this committee gives to issues. This is the first time I've been invited to appear before a federal committee. It's very exciting for me.