Agriculture Committee on Nov. 1st, 2011

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Larry Miller]

Thank you very much.

We'll now move to Mr. Valeriote, for five minutes.

[Frank Valeriote, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Welcome, gentlemen. Thank you for taking time to come up here.

My first question will be for Jon and Pierre. Afterwards, I will ask Dennis and Peter a question.

I'm following along the theme Mr. Lemieux had, about the issue of clusters. We really appreciate the presence of clusters and the deployment of clusters, prioritizing research and research transfer. Right now, it seems to me that it's kind of directed to commodity-based clusters, like dairy, swine, or canola flax, with the exception of the organic science cluster.

I'm wondering if either of you, or both of you, see room for additional clusters that would address more horizontal issues in agriculture—such as food safety, local commercialization systems like farmers' markets or alternative food systems—that seem to be of interest to the public.

[Pierre Lampron]

We have a research cluster and we want it to continue. It happened quickly, but we want there to be continuity.

The model is interesting for the other clusters. It's important to remember that farmers provide 25% of the funding. Our organization must go see its farmers, who continue to invest money in it.

I'll stop there, to see if there are other areas. We would like our cluster to continue.

[Frank Valeriote, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Go ahead, Jon.

[Jon Bell]

Farmers' markets are really sort of a hot topic for the consumer these days. They are sprouting up, if you will, all over the place. The problem is there are maybe a few too many of them, and they are becoming small-scale. The economy of scale might not work for some of the smaller markets. Bringing markets together and capitalizing on particularly municipal intentions to have farmers' markets is certainly working.

Other initiatives that are going on at the consumer level are “food hubs”. This is a term that refers to small growers banding together to provide produce at a larger scale—rather than just a one-off sale here and there—where restaurants and wholesalers can come in and purchase from a number of different growers at the same time and same location.

[Frank Valeriote, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Do you see that happening? I know that Friends of the Greenbelt and the Greenbelt Foundation in southwestern Ontario, around the Golden Horseshoe, are trying to develop methods of commercialization that would allow more farmers to come together, so that they have more produce to sell to an institution like a university or a hospital, which has been problematic. There is no guaranteed supply.

Do you see that as a possibility?

[Jon Bell]

It's not only a possibility, it is happening. In the city of Vancouver there is talk about a food hub. They're now talking about a building. It's actually in progress. So things are moving.

[Frank Valeriote, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Dennis and Peter, if I might, you've heard of the valley of death, the gap between innovation and research and actually commercializing a product and getting it out there, whatever it might be.

I've proposed to previous witnesses incentives such as flow-through shares and other tax credits. Given the lack--really, the lack--of serious venture capital in this country....

I've talked to Dave Smardon--I know you know all of these folks in Guelph--and they seem to have a real appetite for some real incentive that will allow quicker commercialization in locations where you can bring minds and money together so things happen in a more meaningful way.

I wonder if you support those notions and how you might see it being implemented.

[Peter MacLeod]

Absolutely we would support those programs that are in place and the potential solutions that have been brought forward.

We see, as the main cornerstone in innovation, a regulatory system in place that not only establishes science-based principles but enables new products, new technologies, and innovative solutions to come to market.

As I indicated in my presentation, some of the best and most promising innovations that we have to solve some of the world's problems--i.e., food, water--if there's not a system in place to allow those products to be investigated and come to market, they're certainly not going to help provide the solutions we sorely need in today's world.

[Frank Valeriote, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

But do you feel there's enough being done right now, or should we introduce flow-through shares and more tax incentives?

[Peter MacLeod]

Typically, CropLife member companies are publicly traded. We range from large companies to very small Canadian-based ones, but typically those are investments that they make as corporations. I'm not able to give you many more comments on those types of companies.

But an enabling system would certainly help those groups as well as ours.

[The Chair, Conservative, Larry Miller]

Thank you.

We'll move to Mr. Zimmer for five minutes.

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Thank you, Chair.

I have a question for Pierre. I heard you say that you'd like to redirect funds so that they could be better utilized elsewhere. Of course, in government we like to hear that you want to be efficient with federal money.

Can you explain a bit of what you meant by that?

[Pierre Lampron]

Based on what I'm hearing, it's the administrative side that is a little more complicated. I'm not a specialist when it comes to this, but I think that the people behind could answer this question precisely and give the committee an answer. It would be the best way of answering your question.

Would that be okay, Mr. Chair?

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

That's okay, I can ask another one.

No, it's just good to hear that you're saying that, anyway. It's good to hear somebody being efficient with their money, anyway--with all of our money. What I wanted to know....

I guess we talked about, too, science and innovation. You talked about higher production rates and double production; those were some of the terms you used. I want to know some of the specific reasons for the higher production rates. As well, how has our federal contribution directly supported this through science and innovation?

[Pierre Lampron]

With respect to the government's contribution to research, the federal government has long supported dairy production research, research centres previously, and the dairy research cluster. In my opinion, the government had some influence on the field of genetics that was developed in Canada. Think about our insemination centres, of the development of dairy genetics and exports. I think Canada is recognized for having top-notch dairy genetics.

We must acknowledge that supply management is a stable system that enables farmers to have a stable income, to invest in the long term and plan. The Government of Canada supports supply management, which is a considerable help for increasing efficiency.

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Perfect.

I have a question for Dennis. Again, we certainly appreciate here--most of us who understand farming--that crop protection allows us to produce far more than we could normally ever produce. It allows us to produce for the world versus only ourselves, so we appreciate that.

Talking about science and innovation, what are some specific examples, and the most cutting-edge examples, that you see and that are top-of-mind to you as good stories in crop protection?

[Dennis Prouse, Vice-President, Government Affairs, CropLife Canada]

If we talk about the industry in general, canola is our favourite success story. The canola industry is now a $14-billion-a-year industry. It's a very uniquely Canadian success story.

Let's be clear, without a foundation of science-based regulation and clear rules, the Canadian canola industry never would have gotten off the ground. So that's something we can be very proud of.

If we look forward to innovation, I think what's happened in canola--a 20% increase in yields over the last ten years--is phenomenal. That's what can be done. That's why we think that Canada can and should lead in terms of being a world leader in agricultural exports.

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Are there any other ones that you can see coming?

[Dennis Prouse]

The three largest clusters of innovation, and Peter can correct me if there are others, are obviously soybean, soy, and corn. Those would be the three where you've seen the largest amounts of innovation and tremendous increase in yields that are benefiting farmers and benefiting consumers as well.

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Okay.

[The Chair, Conservative, Larry Miller]

You still have a minute left, if you want it.

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Sure.

I have a question for Mr. Bell about farmers' markets. A lot of us appreciate that small producer...and to be able to buy that and access it. You've talked about some of your concerns, but where do you see the future of market gardens? Where would you like to see it go, in a perfect world?

[Jon Bell]

In a perfect world, I would like to see coastal British Columbia in fact being the market garden, providing a lot of, if you will, just vegetables. I think that's where it's going to happen, is on green vegetables.

Right now we import massive amounts from California, Florida, and the southern U.S. in the winter. That's a market we should be able to take and not have those dollars leave the country but keep them in Canada and become the market garden of Canada.