Agriculture committee  Absolutely, without a doubt, I agree, given the situation over the past year. North America has been hit by avian influenza, especially in the U.S., and the supply management sector in Canada has been extremely robust, which has helped keep prices very reasonable for consumers.

Agriculture committee  That's an excellent question. I think it would require a very long answer, as all Canadian productions are experiencing different realities.

Agriculture committee  My expertise is in egg production. However, I believe that Canada has a responsibility towards international food. There are certainly challenges considering the pillars of supply management. On the issue of egg production, which we are talking about today, supply management is extremely beneficial to our population, without a doubt.

Agriculture committee  It's hard for me to answer your question on this aspect, as each agri-food sector has its challenges, its economic realities and its strategic advantages on the international stage. There is an economic ecosystem for each production sector, and some production sectors need exports.

Agriculture committee  I am tempted to say that, as in many industries, given the rapid inflation of the last 12 months, it's obvious that companies like Nutri Group have absorbed costs. That's for sure. It's been so fast that it was impossible to react and raise prices that quickly.

Agriculture committee  In the case of avian flu, the difficulty was more on the farm biosecurity side. The required measures were implemented very effectively, by the way. Canada, it must be said, is well equipped for this. With respect to inflation, yes, we have been impacted by the increased cost of packaging, cardboard, the film that covers our packaging, as well as the pulp that makes up our packaging.

Agriculture committee  Thank you for your question. These increases affect a number of aspects. I have heard previously about transportation costs, for example. I'm going to talk about the reality of the workforce. Labour shortages are often related to the fact that our plants need to have a very high efficiency rate, so they need to run at full capacity.

Agriculture committee  We are always very happy to receive a boost from the government, of course. The plants did receive automation support programs across Canada. That was part of the programs to compensate for the labour shortage. There is certainly a limit to what we can do in terms of the cost of capital, but that was actually part of the solution.

Agriculture committee  It is certain that improvements to the automation plan mitigate the impact of the labour shortage.

Agriculture committee  That's a good question. It should be put to those who produce it. We try to establish as much competition as possible among our suppliers, but we are not experts in packaging production.

Agriculture committee  Thank you for your question. You are correct. Having locations near Canadian farms helps us have proximity. We've been subject to the same rules as the rest of the economy regarding inflation, but having local producers across Canada goes a long way in helping us not be too far from our farms.

Agriculture committee  Nutri Group's history is quite exceptional. At some point in their history, egg producers decided to create an economic structure to bring their product to consumers' plates. Nutri Group's role is to bring together the supply of these producers, who themselves decided to create this entity, to innovate, to enhance the value of eggs and to bring them to the consumer's plate in the best possible way.

Agriculture committee  Absolutely. For example, in the United States, the price of eggs is very high compared with Canada. We're in the midst of inflation and, more importantly, avian flu, which is a problem not only in North America, but around the world.

Agriculture committee  The facts speak for themselves. Over the past year, in the United States, supply and demand have caused a very large price spike. So the market has dictated the price. In Canada, supply management is driven by the cost of production. Biosecurity has been very well controlled in Canada for eggs, even though producers have been affected by the avian flu.

Agriculture committee  That's right, there are still many independent producers who are not members of Nutri Group. In fact, at least 40% of our suppliers are not members of Nutri Group, but they are subject to the same rules as the shareholders.