Agriculture committee  Maybe we would or maybe we wouldn't; I don't know. One thing is for certain, however: there would be a lot more farms shutting down in Quebec because there would be no price in the market. We have learned all the lessons of the BSE crisis. You have as well, and that is the reason

Agriculture committee  Yes, thank you. The future of our producers is one of the reasons we are here today. There will be no future for Canada's producers without adequate slaughtering capacity. That is perfectly clear. And, we have come here today to talk about that issue with you. We need your help

Agriculture committee  That is a question of a whole other nature than production—at another level. If we continue to share our views on this, we will ultimately succeed in implementing a national policy that is competitive at all levels, whether we're talking about regulations or reciprocity. Progres

Agriculture committee  I have made a note of that.

Agriculture committee  That is what we are asking the Canadian government to do.

Agriculture committee  From the very outset, the safety net program in Canada has not worked. The problem is the actual structure of the program. Covering producers' margins when they do not actually have a margin means that you are not covering anything at all. The next problem is the subsequent refer

Agriculture committee  I will tell you what Canada should be doing. Maintaining high quality slaughter facilities in Canada would be a good decision on the part of the Canadian government. Some of our product categories require live inputs from the United States. But that doesn't create jobs in Canada,

Agriculture committee  If you don't mind, I will tackle the question regarding reciprocity of standards. I have a little story to tell that is a clear demonstration of just how abnormal the situation in Canada really is. An American buyer who comes to an auction in Canada and buys a cull cow will pay

Agriculture committee  The plan for the slaughterhouse was analyzed by its board of directors on the basis of direct government assistance in the form of a government subsidy. I do not know what the board of directors' decision will be if the federal funding arrives in a different form. The financial

Agriculture committee  We have no expectation whatsoever that it will be a loan. We have made no such request. The discussions we have had and the presentations we have made do not address that option at all. That is not the clear message we have received from the actual spokespersons.

Agriculture committee  That is an excellent question. These questions and others guided producers in their own thinking when the opportunity arose to buy a slaughterhouse in Quebec. We wanted to get closer to the market and go after consumer dollars. In the initial years, it was a little more difficul

Agriculture committee  Good morning, Mr. Miller. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I would like to begin by thanking you for this opportunity to dialogue and share with you our understanding of certain Canadian realities while, at the same time, making you aware of our needs, in terms of reta

Agriculture committee  In my opinion, a program as wide in scope as the CAIS will never give farms what they need. A program based on farm earnings will never perform during difficult periods, because of input costs, fertilizers, energy, feed, and the relative value of the dollar. All of these are fact

Agriculture committee  I have no idea.

Agriculture committee  The regulatory burden for cull cattle costs us between and $35 and $50 a head, and that does not include the extra labour costs involved.