PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Les PLQ focused on the future
Saint-Hyacinthe, April 19, 2023 – For Daniel Gobeil, Chair of Les Producteurs de lait du Québec, 2023 will be a year focused on the future. Before the members of his organization, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary, he stated that “in the coming year, we will be focusing on improving our tools and setting our strategic objectives so that we can continue to play a key role in our society, across Quebec. The last four decades have shown that dairy producers want to work together, be resilient, support young farmers and develop their sector. In the coming years, we will pursue the same fundamental values that have guided the last 40 years.”
Consumer expectations are constantly evolving. For Gobeil, the issues are changing, and farms and the whole industry will continuously be asked to adapt to consumer choices. “We are listening. We need to keep setting the example in the area of animal care and achieve even more in the area of sustainable development. That is exactly what we are doing by implementing a Sustainable Development Plan,” added Gobeil.
The first steps of the PLQ’s Sustainable Development Plan were begun in 2021. In 2022, the PLQ performed an analysis of the organization to assess the actions that had already been taken. “We also began to identify priorities that we can work on to improve our performance and continue to meet the growing public expectations. This project will continue in 2023 in parallel to the process of achieving the goal of net-zero carbon emissions process set by Dairy Farmers of Canada for 2050,” explained Mr. Gobeil.
Bill C-282
Chair Daniel Gobeil also reminded members that the passage of Bill C-282 in the House of Commons was important because it seeks to protect supply management in future trade agreements. “Supply management is an official agricultural policy of the federal government and the provinces. The government must from now on play its role as trustee of this policy more firmly than it did in the last three negotiations. It must be able to withstand domestic and international pressure, which it has not done the last three times,” recalled the Chair. The bill passed its second reading in February. All the leaders of the parties represented in the House of Commons voted for it. The Prime Minister publicly stated that the government would support the bill until was passed. “We are counting on the support of all the parties so that C-282 is ultimately passed and passed by the Senate before the parliamentary session ends,” concluded the Chair.
“Our sector has already paid and continues to pay for the huge market concessions that were granted in the last three agreements. Supply management has done more than its share to open up markets!” The data clearly shows that as foreign dairy products enter based on the granted quotas, exported products that have seen gains under these agreements will not be able to fill a significant percentage of the quotas that were obtained for them. “We think that the priority should be to help them become more competitive so that they can fill these markets rather than try to sacrifice us again to open up new export quotas for them,” concluded Mr. Gobeil.
About Les Producteurs de lait du Québec
About Les Producteurs de lait du Québec
Les Producteurs de lait du Québec, affiliated with the UPA, represents Quebec’s 4,087 dairy farms, which deliver roughly 3.60 billion litres of milk, for a total of over $3.61 billion in farm revenues. Milk production and processing create around 66,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs in Quebec and contribute as much as $6.1 billion to the gross domestic product. Ultimately, they generate over $1 billion in tax revenues. The dairy sector’s impacts are critical because they play a role in land occupancy and maintenance of the social fabric across the province. Through its sponsorship and milk donation program, Les Producteurs de lait du Québec not only supports key events in Quebec society, but also helps eliminate hunger and ensure food security. Because they care about sustainable development in their sector, dairy producers invested $649 million in 2025 in machinery, equipment and buildings, specifically to improve their practices and the comfort of their animals.
For more information, visit our website at www.lait.org or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.
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François Dumontier
Director – Communications, Public Affairs and Union
Les Producteurs de lait du Québec
Office : (438) 315-9129
Cell : (514) 713-0530
[email protected]