Thank you, Mr. Chair.

For those of you who do not know me, yes, the chair did introduce me, but I am an eighth-generation farmer here in Canada, and I represent the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, which is Canada's largest general farm organization, representing nearly 190,000 farmers, farm families and ranchers right across this great country of ours.

For those of you who had the benefit of eating today, on behalf of our farmers we thank you for choosing good-quality Canadian food. Thank you.

Our sector, like many others, has emerged from the global pandemic into a high inflation and high interest rate environment. As a result, the cost of critical farm inputs, such as fuel, fertilizer, feed, machinery, crop protection products, land and even labour have increased dramatically over the past few years, putting tremendous pressure on producers' farm financial health.

Recent numbers from Statistics Canada have shown that our net income dropped by almost 10% in 2022, mostly due to the growth in expenses that outpaced the rise in farm incomes. Coupled with an increasing series of extreme weather events that are testing the limits and effectiveness of Canada's suite of risk management programs, Canadian farmers are challenged like never before to meet Canada's ambitious climate change objectives.

In this context, our pre-budget submission lays out a series of recommendations aimed at ensuring farmers have the flexibility and tools they need to weather the current financial climate and support the transition to a low-carbon economy. At the end of the day, our concern is that we don't want financial insecurity to undermine our sector's ability and commitment to producing affordable food or supporting our sustainable objectives.

I'll focus my comments on a subset of recommendations that illustrate our priorities for budget 2024.

First, under the theme of helping farmers manage the increased costs of production, we're recommending that this government continue to support farmers through the advance payments program. Specifically, we need the interest-free limit for advances under the APP to be increased on a permanent basis to a level commensurate with today's increased costs of production and high inflation around critical farm inputs to ensure the program maintains its utility as a source of critical cash flow support.

Furthermore, one of the most effective ways to meet the dual challenge of increasing productivity while at the same time reducing emissions is through technology and innovation. That's why our second priority recommendation is that the Government of Canada introduce a permanent accelerated capital cost allowance across all classes of farm equipment that would allow producers to depreciate 100% of their capital allocated to purchases of farm equipment for the first fiscal year. This would support farmers in making necessary investments in technologies that improve their environmental performance at a time of increased financial pressures that would otherwise make access to working capital a real challenge.

Our third priority falls under the theme of ensuring risk management programs are responsive to today's threats. Increasing incidents of extreme weather events across Canada are having a direct impact on Canadian producers on a scale not seen in generations. That's why we're recommending that AAFC start the process of revising key risk management programs, including in particular AgriRecovery, to ensure they are more timely, responsive and predictable in the face of increasing disaster-related events caused by climate change.

Our fourth priority falls under the theme of ensuring that sustainability issues are farmer focused and provide support to help them adapt to the effects of climate change. If the sustainable agriculture strategy is going to position the sector to advance agriculture's capacity as a climate solution provider while remaining competitive, we need to ensure that a whole-of-government approach is put in place to support robust incentives for the adoption of best management practices, alongside investments to advance research and extension services to ensure farmers have on-the-ground support for best management practices adoption.

Finally, under the theme of supporting farm succession and the next generation of farmers, we're recommending that the lifetime capital gains exemption be increased to reflect inflation in farmland values and other capital costs, and that provisions advanced through budget 2023's commitment to regulate intergenerational transfers do not discourage genuine family transfers from taking place. Taken together, these measures will create a more favourable tax environment for younger generations of farmers seeking to enter the sector and continue the long tradition of farming here in Canada.

Thanks for this opportunity to speak today. I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have.

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