Mr. Chair, members of the committee and guests, good evening.
My name is René Roy. I am a hog producer in the Beauce region and chair of the Canadian Pork Council. With me today is our executive director, Mr. Stephen Heckbert.
Thank you for inviting us to join you today at this very difficult time for Canada's hog producers.
My voice echoes that of 7,000 hog producers in Canada.
Let me begin with some basics.
The pork industry in Canada is responsible for almost 1% of our total exports or almost $5 billion every year. If there is no reversal, the closure of this plant could reduce our pork production in Canada by 12%, and the impact will be outsized in eastern Canada.
I want you to leave with three main points today.
The situation is not a local one. It impacts farmers across Canada, and it will have a ripple effect that could impact our ability as a country to produce food for the world. This situation can be an opportunity for us to diversify the processing industry in Canada and to match production with processing capacity. This situation can serve as a reminder that food production is an industry of strategic national importance in Canada, and trade deals must be appropriately negotiated.
Why is this of national concern? Our producers are directly impacted by the closure and, if nothing else is done, the excess supply of animals can have long-term impacts on our industry. It's not only Quebec producers who are affected but also producers from Atlantic Canada and Ontario. The impact will be felt throughout the country, notably by the price they receive for their animals. To that end, we will be seeking the federal government's support to our farmers so that they can still be farmers when this temporary downturn has ended.
Second, we need to be strategic in how we think about our food processing and food production in general. The Canadian pork industry has benefited from the diversity of its players, and we can reverse the trend of market concentration we observe now. Processing capacity is still available and, if we act quickly, we can bring new players into the market. Our industry is willing to work with the government to grasp these opportunities.
Third, we need to accept a fundamental truth. Agriculture is an industry of critical strategic importance for Canada. Pork produced in Canada is produced with one of the lightest environmental footprints in the world. We have the opportunity and the responsibility to feed the world with our products. The new Indo-Pacific strategy is a good step, but we need more. We, with our partners in our sector, will be working on a national pork strategy in the coming months, but we need a national agriculture policy, particularly in a world undergoing the climate transformation we are witnessing on our farms.
We need a commitment to strengthen agriculture and agricultural exports. That's why we need a more aggressive stance on trading agreements. Our sector is shut out of markets like Europe, where we have three agreements, because we accept non-tariff trade barriers.
We need to think strategically. We need to think about an industry where Canada is already leading, where our geographic advantage is clear, and where we can bring food to our people here and around the world.
Thank you.