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Results: 31 - 45 of 8934
View Judy A. Sgro Profile
Lib. (ON)
Thank you very much, Mr. Forsyth.
I'm sorry, Mr. Perron; I had not acknowledged you earlier. I'm glad to see that you're joining our committee today.
We'll go on to Monsieur Savard-Tremblay, please.
View Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay Profile
BQ (QC)
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Greetings to all the witnesses.
I will yield my speaking time to Mr. Perron for this first round of questions.
View Yves Perron Profile
BQ (QC)
Madam Chair, thank you for your greetings. It is always a pleasure to be with you.
Thanks also to Mr. Savard-Tremblay.
I will address Mr. Forsyth first.
In your opening statement, you acknowledged that this bill was consistent with Canada's long-standing policy and its intention of protecting supply management.
Did I hear you correctly?
View Yves Perron Profile
BQ (QC)
So it is part of a continuing process and is consistent with the intentions expressed orally. I believe this bill puts the election promises into concrete form.
You said that this might carry risks in the negotiations.
Whenever we enter into negotiations with a country for a free trade agreement, is there not always precisely such a risk, given that we need to be vigilant and protect our key sectors?
Doug Forsyth
View Doug Forsyth Profile
Doug Forsyth
2021-06-11 13:23
Yes, any time we enter into negotiation, we would have both offensive and defensive interests, and on the defensive interests side, it's absolutely about protecting and defending key sectors like, for example, supply-managed sectors.
View Yves Perron Profile
BQ (QC)
Thank you very much, Mr. Forsyth.
Some opponents of the bill argue that a change would not be prevented, because any act can be amended at a later date. So a government that had its negotiating mandate limited could always come back to Parliament to change it.
Is that correct?
Doug Forsyth
View Doug Forsyth Profile
Doug Forsyth
2021-06-11 13:24
Thank you for the question.
Yes, that is my understanding. If this bill were enacted, if they wanted to make changes to it, they could do that.
View Yves Perron Profile
BQ (QC)
Perfect, thank you.
If I understand correctly, a government that came after and wanted to make concessions would have to assume the political responsibility and have the courage to include it in its mandate and seek the permission of the House first.
So the power is delegated to the members of the House. That is the aspect that I find interesting. I don't think it conflicts with our interests.
There have been several references to the agreement with Great Britain. I would like to point out specifically that the market shares that had been allocated to Europe had also been allocated to Great Britain. It was obvious that we could not have expected new concessions on its part. Unfortunately, the agreement signed with Great Britain is temporary. There is therefore still a risk of fresh demands.
I would like to bring this point to the attention of the committee members, because I think it is important.
You spoke earlier of the negotiating mandates. When a representative of the government participates in negotiations, they have a mandate from the government. Would the law proposed in Bill C-216 not simply be part of the mandate? Would it not impose a limit to prevent the representatives from touching supply management?
Would that not have the same impact?
There seems to be a desire to dramatize the fact that it is a law, but it could simply be set out in the government's instructions. On the other hand, if it is in a law, we are sure it will be there, regardless of what government is in office.
Doug Forsyth
View Doug Forsyth Profile
Doug Forsyth
2021-06-11 13:26
If this bill were enacted, I would not see a need for it to be in the negotiating mandate. I mean, you would probably put it in anyway, but it would be to remind negotiators of what is in the legislation. However, I think it would be clear—
View Yves Perron Profile
BQ (QC)
You agree with me that it would be more or less equivalent, right?
It is simply defining a future government's negotiating mandate in advance, no matter what party is in power.
Doug Forsyth
View Doug Forsyth Profile
Doug Forsyth
2021-06-11 13:26
I think all governments of the day, as I mentioned in my earlier answer, have supported supply management since its inception. It has been part and parcel of Canada's trade negotiations and Canada's agriculture policy. I don't think that's anything new.
View Yves Perron Profile
BQ (QC)
Thank you. I will move on to my next question.
You say that all governments have expressed their support for supply management. That's true, but in the recent agreements, all governments, regardless of stripe, have made concessions, except in the case of the agreement with Great Britain, obviously, that we spoke about earlier.
So the goal of this bill is to cement that.
Someone cited the danger that other groups will be asking to have their interests entrenched in law. Is that not a slight exaggeration? We know that the other groups are not governed by supply management.
It must be understood that if we grant more concessions, then at some point, the supply management system will no longer be able to function. In order for a supply management system to function, supply has to be controlled. That is the very foundation of the system.
I would like to hear your thoughts on that subject.
I am putting the question to Mr. Fowler from the Department of Agriculture.
View Judy A. Sgro Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Fowler, could we could get a somewhat short answer?
Aaron Fowler
View Aaron Fowler Profile
Aaron Fowler
2021-06-11 13:28
I will endeavour to do so, Chair.
It is true that supply management rests upon three legs. One is on import controls, because we need to know the volume of product that's entering the country in these sectors in order for us to do the domestic administration and allocation of the system to ensure it continues to operate. It is important that we preserve import controls to ensure the smooth functioning of supply management.
I would say, though, similarly—
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