Good morning, Mr. Chairman, members of the committee.
Our presentation will be in two parts. I will do the first part, and Ms. Savary who is accompanying me will talk to you in greater detail about the technical part.
The Union des producteurs agricoles is very pleased with the government's position that favours regulations regarding labelling and the use of the term "Product of Canada".
Our brief will deal primarily with the designation of origins, reciprocity of standards, categories of classification and certification of organic products. Producers in Quebec and Canada adopted very strict quality standards with which the industry or the producers go a little further than provincial and federal regulations require. Moreover, environmental standards have also been imposed on us with regard to respecting growing methods.
This business has evolved enormously and we're faced with regulations that go back many years and that have not been amended. Agricultural producers have lost contact with consumers. Historically, when you saw the word "Canada" on a label, it meant that Canadian consumers were in contact with the producers. We hope that this regulation will foster greater contact again, which is what we want, and that producers can be in contact with consumers again thanks to the use of the word "Canada".
After that, producers will be in a position to adopt communication, information and value-added strategies for our products in our contacts with consumers which will mean, we hope, that we will be supported by adequate regulations in order to have an agricultural sector that will be prosperous in the future.
We are working with that perspective in mind. We hope that there will be regulations and we will participate in a fast-track movement to obtain results quite quickly in order to kick-start the agricultural sector.
I would now ask Alyne to continue.