Madam Speaker, I welcome this opportunity to speak on Bill S-38, an act respecting the implementation of international trade commitments by Canada regarding spirit drinks of foreign countries.
To ensure the flow of their respective products, countries have to enter into marketing arrangements. Several existing international agreements are designed to facilitate international trade. For example, the free trade agreements and the WTO imply that, like its partners, Canada has to meet its commitments and that, in return, its enjoys the privileges associated with its participation in the specific agreement.
One of these commitments is a commitment to promote the trading of wines and spirits among all the signatories, including the Caribbean and the European Community. These agreements do not affect in any way the need to protect individual terroirs. At the same time, they provide guidance to help consumers make knowledgeable decisions about certain types of products based on the relevant information made available to them about their origin and composition.
The Bloc Québécois acknowledges that Bill S-38 is consistent with Quebec’s policy on the labelling and recognition of local products. It should be remembered that, in Quebec, transparency and consumer choice are integral elements of product marketing. Where the problem arises with this bill under consideration today, as with the others that preceded it, is that the Canadian government is tempted to sign these international agreements without first consulting Parliament. In acting this way, it is depriving itself of a key element, namely the opinion of the duly elected representatives of the people, the hon. members, who are here to facilitate and not to impede. It is depriving itself, and in so doing, the entire population of the most important democratic instrument at its disposal.
To illustrate, it would be appropriate to briefly review the legal scope of certain agreements reached between Canada and its partners.
According to the provisions of section 2, chapter 3 and chapter 8 of NAFTA, which concern trade of wines and distilled spirits, there are specific measures which determine listing, pricing and distribution practices, blending requirements, and labelling standards and requirements affecting various products. This is an approach which aims for equal treatment in the marketing of Canadian and American wines and spirits.
Under this agreement, the signatory countries are committed to respecting the protection of certain names, such as tequila, bourbon whiskey or Tennessee whiskey. With the introduction of such guidelines, consumers are in no danger of being disappointed with the product they buy, as its originality and quality are guaranteed when consumers make their choice.
The name “Caribbean rum”, for example, derives precisely from the protection of that product under an agreement signed between Canada and the Caribbean countries in 1985. The reputation of this product stems precisely from the fact that consumers immediately know the taste they can expect and have no doubt as to what exactly the product is.
The impact of the 1985 agreement is felt in all the other southern countries. In the protection of their products’ names they see a kind of aid to economic development.
The recognition of the distinctiveness of these products gives them the opportunity to distinguish themselves on foreign markets. This is a fine example of the positive effects of a unique and controlled trade name.
Similarly, the most recent of the accords between Canada and the European Community on trade in wines and spirits was designed to boost sales of their products while protecting certain trade names. This would apply to ouzo from Greece, Irish whisky, cognac brandy and armagnac brandy from France, Canadian rye whisky and Spanish pacharan.
In addition to this association between region and name, the agreement in question facilitates access to Europe for Canadian exports on the one hand, and on the other, internally, the use by wine producers of points of sale for exclusively Canadian products. Incidentally, the requirement for all wines sold in Quebec grocery stores to be bottled in Quebec is also protected by this agreement.
Although the Bloc Québécois considers Bill S-38 an improvement and a step toward better policies on the labelling and recognition of local products, it also feels that the government’s initiative does not go far enough. Allow me to explain.
Not only is the geographic designation essential, product ingredients must be clearly and specifically identified for at least two reasons. First, consumers are entitled to know what they are consuming. Second, international consumers need a clear reference with regard to the quality of the product on the market. This is ultimately what creates a brand image, is it not?
For example, drinkers of bourbon whiskey know that it contains at least 51% corn and that it is made exclusively in the United States. What about Canadian whisky?
Rye whisky must contain at least 51% rye. However, Canada does not specify the percentage of rye in its product. Are we not—particularly foreign consumers—entitled to ask if this is indeed whisky being marketed?
Accordingly, we can say that an exclusive designation should necessarily specify the exact quantities of the ingredients in the product. Do these ingredients not attest to the product's quality and true nature? Rye whisky is then a Canadian whisky, but this label is merely a geographic reference. Without an indication of the percentage of rye in rye whisky, no assumptions about its quality can be made, and this is a disadvantage in terms of competition, particularly on the international market where it is supposedly less well known.
Apart from the lack of specific guidelines on quality standards for our wines and spirits, the Canadian government is failing to be transparent in the House by negotiating all kinds of international agreements or commitments without considering the informed opinions of the members. Is this not a tool that it could use to its advantage?
Would it not be normal for international agreements concluded in good faith among countries to be submitted to Parliament before being signed?
Without opposing the principle of the bill, the Bloc Québécois considers this failure to consult a serious breach of democratic principles and values.
Bill S-38 is one more step toward the recognition of the various local products by suggesting among other things a better labelling policy associating the name of the region where the product is produced.
Consumers are entitled to know what they are buying. They therefore need the tools to be able to do so, and to really assess the quality and composition of their wines and spirits. This is along the same lines as Quebec's demands year after year relating to GMOs, trans fats and dairy products, among others.
As far as genetically modified organisms are concerned, several studies have shown that Quebeckers and Canadians want GMOs clearly identified. On the other hand, the food processing industry refers to the threat of job losses if it is forced to spend more, as it claims it will be, on labelling.
Let us face it; food processors are not always guided by a concern for transparency. Think of all the recent studies on the harmful effects of trans fats on health. Yet we are still not in a position to know the trans fat content of the food we eat.
How can this be acceptable, when we know that the government has a mandate to protect the population? If some current legislation has shortcomings, does the government not have a duty to improve it, as it could have readily done with Bill S-38, An Act respecting the implementation of international trade commitments by Canada regarding spirit drinks of foreign countries. The Food and Drugs Act sets out labelling and advertising standards, but at the present time there is nothing to require processors and retailers to disclose the trans fat content in their products.
If, in the short and medium term, food companies both large and small are going to be required to identify products high in trans fats, we do not see how companies specializing in wines and spirits could not be subjected to an identical process starting immediately.
The same approach could easily, and advantageously, be applied in the near future to identifying all dairy-based products.
WIth the GMOs, trans fats and dairy products, we see a new trend developing: better consumer information on the composition of food products. This trend is also valid for wines, which are becoming more of a presence at our tables and social gatherings, and for spirits.
We have to recognize that people have become more concerned about what they eat, hence the interest and the need for greater clarity in product definitions.
The Food and Drugs Act could be used in argument against what I have said. It prohibits the false and misleading labelling, advertising and sale of food in terms of its qualities, composition, value, benefits and wholesomeness. That would lead us to think that, as Aldous Huxley the British naturalist put it, it is all for the best in the best of worlds.
But, careful. Only the guide to food and drug labelling and advertising can help us separate the true from the false.
Unfortunately, however, it is not enforceable, and so we are left in the dark, not really any further ahead. Is it a falsehood to omit the amount of rye in Canadian whisky? It could be considered misleading at least. We can certainly be criticized for it by any inhabitant of the vast world beyond our borders without it being a personal judgment on the value of the product.
A good example of the sea of contradictions we are navigating at the moment can be found in Canada's not integrating nationally the rules it has supported internationally on the terminology in the Codex Alimentarius with respect to dairy products.
As national and international communities are demanding greater precision in product labelling, especially in the case of food, why not head in that direction post haste? No time must be wasted getting there, regardless of what the processors may think.
Would it not be smarter and more economical under the circumstances to proceed with legislation covering the whole field of responsible labelling, while looking for ways to make the life of the processors easier without putting them at risk?
Canada is lagging behind Europe in terms of labelling provisions. And yet, this is one of the biggest markets, especially when it comes to wines and spirits. Has it thought about the potential economic losses that could result from the lack of clarity and precision in its bill?
Canada wants to ratify the agreement, but it is not ready to get in step with the other nations it is dealing with. It keeps claiming to be a leader on the international stage.
Canada does ratify treaties. That said, it does nothing more than join the chorus and sing from the same songbook as the other nations, and in this case it seems to be singing off key.
The European Community made the effort to hold a meeting to define pizza and determine its ingredients in 2003 because the composition of food is important, as we know. Furthermore, a precise definition informs us on the nature and quality of a food item. This precision prevents misunderstandings about nutritional value and also prevents any fraud related to the actual products.
Where is the government singing off key, one might ask? It is off key in its laxity in not requiring content to be labelled.
In such an open global market, we cannot leave any doubt about the composition of our products, especially those sold abroad. On one hand, this helps inform the client on what we are selling, whether it is real whisky or real maple syrup. On the other hand, this helps reinforce the brand power of the product and to set it apart from other products on the shelves and enhance its reputation.
What is more, given Canada's visibility and recognition internationally, we must lead by example, especially in developing countries that are trying, and rightly so, to enter the market.
Considering the government's laxness with labelling standards, we maintain that there are still some grey areas in the Liberal governance, in a party that claims to be transparent.
Nevertheless, we support Bill S-38, which is a small step for Canadian legislation and for Quebeckers and Canadians. Who knows, it might be a big step in the eyes of the Liberals.
