Okay. It's not the first time I've been accused of making others late.
To continue, COTA recommends that the farmers' privilege in Bill C-18 clearly indicate the right to store and condition seed, including that organic growers have a right to store and plant seed they have introduced from non-organic seed and harvested as organic. This will ensure organic growers have options available to them and also create market incentives for seed breeders to offer organic varieties. In general, the farmers' privilege should make explicit allowances for all farmers to store seeds harvested for on-farm needs, including livestock feed, storing unsold crop in the farmyard, and storing indefinitely a supply of seed to protect against crop failure, disease, or frost.
Bill C-18 also proposes an end point royalty system, which allows the plant breeder to collect royalties on harvested material. COTA recommends that where a non-organic seed has been used by a certified organic grower, the harvested seed, which is now organic, should be excluded from the EPR system.
Further, for all seed, COTA strongly recommends that the bill include language to the effect that the EPR can never be greater for saved seed than it is for purchased seed. For example, the European Court of Justice ruled that seed-saving costs cannot be more than half the price of seed royalties.
I'll now pass my remaining time to Mr. Dwayne Smith from my board of directors.