Hon. Judith G. Seidman: Welcome to the Senate, minister.

Minister, my question concerns full and fair compensation for dairy farmers for what they’ve lost under the CUSMA trade agreement. In the April budget, your government said compensation for CUSMA won’t be announced until the fall 2022 Economic and Fiscal Update.

In response, the Dairy Farmers of Canada said, “In tabling Budget 2022 without details, the government missed an opportunity to provide predictability to the industry.”

Minister, the new NAFTA came into force almost two years ago, on July 1, 2020. Why is it taking so long to fulfill this promise to dairy farmers?