Evidence of meeting #49 for Agriculture and Agri-Food in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was research.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Michael J. Emes  Dean, College of Biological Science, University of Guelph
Rene Van Acker  Professor and Associate Dean, Department of Plant Agriculture, University of Guelph
Manish N. Raizada  Associate Professor, International Relations Officer, Department of Plant Agriculture, University of Guelph
Derek Penner  President and General Manager, Monsanto Canada Inc.
Frank Ingratta  President, Ingratta Innovations Inc., As an Individual
Mike McGuire  East Sales, Marketing Lead, Monsanto Canada Inc.
William J. Rowe  President and Chief Executive Officer, Nutrasource Diagnostics Inc.
John Kelly  Vice-President, Erie Innovations, Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers' Association
Steven Rothstein  Professor, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Guelph
Allan Paulson  Associate Scientific Director, Advanced Foods and Materials Network

Noon

Conservative

Bev Shipley Conservative Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON

Was the MIT thing sort of a principle on the government's radar? Do you think that is what drove it in Waterloo? Or was it sort of an initiative that “this is what we've taken as a leadership, and we need to bring in investment, outside of public dollars or taxpayer dollars”?

I am trying to grasp how we do it. I'm not pointing fingers at anyone, because it has to happen. We have fewer people in agriculture. We have a large industry, which means it's becoming much more specialized. People who are in it are extraordinary business people. They're extraordinary innovators. They adapt the research to what meets their needs, not someone else's needs. That works for innovation too.

I'm just trying to grasp how we move there and what we can do to help. I'm open.

John, you look as though you want to say something.

Noon

Vice-President, Erie Innovations, Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers' Association

Dr. John Kelly

I do. It's interesting that everybody is mentioning Saskatoon and Guelph. What you're talking about is cluster developments, really.

The cluster in Saskatoon was developed about 30 years ago with defined Saskatchewan government direction. They said “We are going to be the crop biotech leaders globally.” That's what they wanted to be known as.

Their cluster was financed. So if you look at all the companies around the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, there's a pile of them.

If you look at what's happened in Guelph, it is also an agriculture cluster. It has developed a little bit differently, more organically, but the key driver of the cluster here was the location of the provincial ministry of agriculture. If you look across the road in Research Park, you'll see Syngenta, Monsanto, Elanco, Bayer, the Canadian Animal Health Institute, Grain Farmers of Ontario. They're all there. I can recall, 12 years ago, walking across a soybean field where that is. That is an organically grown cluster.

What can the government do? They can help locate facilities in one particular area and provide the infrastructure, and things will grow around it. If you follow cluster theory, competitors will locate next to each other because they know it's important. The same thing has happened in Waterloo.

Noon

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Larry Miller

Thank you. We never seem to—

Noon

Liberal

Frank Valeriote Liberal Guelph, ON

Can I just respond to something Bev asked? I think I can offer some information in answer to his question about Guelph declaring itself.

Noon

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Larry Miller

Okay, go ahead, briefly.

Noon

Liberal

Frank Valeriote Liberal Guelph, ON

The mayor in fact developed a task force over a year ago, which brought a number of minds together, including the MPP, the MP--me--and, from the University of Guelph, Dr. Kevin Hall, who is vice-president of research. It's being investigated at this moment whether we will declare ourselves the agritech, biotech, environmental tech, food technology centre in Canada.

12:05 p.m.

Conservative

Bev Shipley Conservative Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON

That's good.

12:05 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Larry Miller

Gentlemen, thanks a lot. There's never enough time, and we are out of it.

We do appreciate your involvement here today. If there's something that you see as pertinent as a follow-up that we should know about as far as information goes, please pass it on to the committee. It will be translated into the two official languages, and it'll go from there.

12:05 p.m.

Associate Scientific Director, Advanced Foods and Materials Network

Dr. Allan Paulson

Can I make one comment? I never had a chance to squeeze it in. It will take only a few seconds.

12:05 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Larry Miller

Yes, certainly.

12:05 p.m.

Associate Scientific Director, Advanced Foods and Materials Network

Dr. Allan Paulson

Regarding Bill's comment about clinical trials, AFMNet in fact does fund a coordinator for a multi-centred clinical trial facility that's designed to address exactly your concerns. Right now it consists of, I believe, four facilities. They have exactly the same protocols. They're coordinated out of Laval University, and that's another thing that's going to be lost.

12:05 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Larry Miller

Thank you very much.

Thanks again, gentlemen.

We now adjourn.