Honourable senators, a significant portion of my time as a senator has been dedicated to “AGvocating” for the interests of farmers, processors and producers throughout the country.

Over the past several months, I have spoken with many passionate farmers, producers and advocacy groups about concerns over the ongoing negotiations regarding the U.K.’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, or CPTPP. I share their concerns. With accession to the CPTPP, the United Kingdom will have unprecedented access to Canadian markets for pork and beef, while Canadian producers will be unable to send our high-quality products to the British markets. As a trading nation, this sets an unfair advantage for foreign markets. While the U.K. engages in some level of trade protectionism to control its domestic markets, Canada is putting its valuable food systems at risk by allowing foreign products to enter our market at an unfair disadvantage for our farmers. Equal opportunity is crucial for our producers to continue to export their products.

The Canadian Cattle Association and the Canadian Pork Council, as well as the Canadian Meat Council, have actively spoken about the implications that the U.K.’s accession without renegotiation will bring, and the falsehoods being adopted to justify non-tariff barriers to U.K. markets. Their main concern, colleagues, is the failure to accept Canada’s meat inspection system, which is widely recognized around the world as one of the finest. The U.K. does not accept Canada’s food safety and animal health systems and measures, and those non-tariff barriers limit access to the U.K. market. In addition, there is a lack of reciprocal tariff measures, which have allowed British beef and pork full access to the Canadian market without full reciprocity.

I urge my colleagues and the government to consider the implications created by the U.K.’s accession. I believe it is high time we address the non-tariff barriers that restrict global access to our high-quality food products. Canada continues to work diligently to put food on our plates — not just here at home, but around the world as well — and we must continue to protect our valuable food systems.

Thank you. Meegwetch.