Agriculture committee  Bill C-280 is very good for us. It represents financial security. Given the number of clients we have, I'd say it really represents financial security for Quebec.

Agriculture committee  We're much less affected by that in Quebec because we already have provincial framework legislation for carbon pricing. So Bill C-234 will put us at a disadvantage if it's passed as proposed.

Agriculture committee  In addition, our main sustainable development concern is the level of regulatory requirements in both Quebec and Canada. We're being hurt in three ways in Quebec. First, most consumers perceive no added value in purchasing fresh fruit and vegetables that have been produced in ac

Agriculture committee  Excuse me. Were you asking, me, Mr. Perron?

Agriculture committee  Our greatest fear right now is losing farms. If the bill merely guaranteed sustainability in our sector and enabled the farms to survive, we would lose fewer growers.

Agriculture committee  At the moment, we are definitely not working on a level playing field. The reciprocity of standards is hurting us, and we don't have the reciprocity provided under the PACA. As you were saying earlier, that elicits a number of problems in connection with the sustainability of o

Agriculture committee  I'll ask my colleague to answer your question.

Agriculture committee  It's a domino effect. As I was saying earlier, the products that leave the farm are extremely perishable. We don't know what's going to happen in the process once our products have been delivered to the initial buyer, or how important it is in this bill to protect growers first a

Agriculture committee  Good evening to the members and the chair. Thank you for having invited us to take part in this meeting. The Quebec produce sector covers approximately 36,5000 hectares of cultivated land that generated over $500 million in revenue in 2020. The mandate of the Quebec Produce Gro

Agriculture committee  We are the ones missing inspectors at the border, not other countries.

Agriculture committee  That's exactly right. A CFIA officer told us at a conference that the agency conducted 1,200 inspections a year.

Agriculture committee  No, they don't get a fair price. No country's vegetable production costs compare to ours.

Agriculture committee  First, more random inspections certainly need to be carried out at customs. We've been told that a total of 1,200 inspections are conducted annually. Given how much produce is coming into the country, suffice it to say that we would like to see more inspections than that. For pe

Agriculture committee  I'll give you an actual example. In 2022, the average farm gate price for a 50-pound case of green cabbage was under $16, so less than 30¢ a pound. The best sale at the grocery store this year was 99¢ a pound, so triple what the grower received. A head of cabbage usually sells fo

Agriculture committee  I can't. I'm not sure when exactly the price goes up. All I know is that farmers can barely keep their heads above water.