Agriculture committee  I think you're referring to issues around low-level presence. As I mentioned earlier, there are conversations going on between countries already on that subject. There are 15 like-minded countries, led by Canada under the banner of the global low-level presence initiative, talking about how to deal with low-level presence.

Agriculture committee  I started working for CropLife Canada about two and a half years ago, and I had a career with the government on the regulatory side before then. I asked my members, what do you think about the Canadian regulatory system, what are the issues, and so on? Without any hesitation, exception, they all said Canada's regulatory system is world class; it's the best in the world, the most science-based, the most predictable, and they're very happy operating in Canada.

Agriculture committee  According to the members I have spoken to, it takes anywhere from between one year and three years to go through these three regulatory streams and they happen concurrently. This is in the context of probably a 10-year to 13-year process, from the invention, so to speak, of a new characteristic through these new genetic enhancements, right through to getting the final approval.

Agriculture committee  Actually, it's quite astounding that the regulatory process, in terms of the science-based review, is virtually identical in the EU or as similar to Canada as it is in any other part of the world, such as the Australian, U.S., or Brazilian systems, and so on. For example, the European Food Safety Authority has very similar information requirements, goes through very similar risk-assessment requirements, and so on.

Agriculture committee  Yes.

Agriculture committee  I'll have a go at that one. That's a little bit outside of our expertise. Certainly, our colleagues in the Canadian Seed Trade Association have lots to say about UPOV 91.

Agriculture committee  Right, what we're talking about here are avenues for effective intellectual property protection and plant breeders' rights, which is what you're speaking to. This is one particular tool to help with that. The thinking is that the current Plant Breeders' Rights Act in Canada is out of date.

Agriculture committee  Yes, I think it's going to be more good news for our farmers. Then when there may be some sort of technical aspects of misunderstandings or disagreements between the regulators in the EU versus Canada, we have a much stronger venue to have those conversations, because it will be enshrined within this agreement.

Agriculture committee  I'll have a go at answering that one. Of course, just to clarify, we're from CropLife Canada. We're an association that represents the interests of members, companies that are developing these things, but they're not always going to tell us what they have in their pipeline.

Agriculture committee  It's a very competitive process. Also, as you know, for the last 15, 20 years, farmers in Canada have enjoyed to a large extent, with corn, soybeans and canola, traits such as herbicide tolerance and insect resistance, and so on. That has really, in some aspects, revolutionized how farming is done in Canada.

Agriculture committee  I think there's already a relationship between the Canadian government and counterparts in the EU, including senior managers of CFIA, Health Canada, Agriculture Canada, and so on and their counterparts in the EU. We see that this CETA underscores that relationship and formalizes a working group.

Agriculture committee  I think there's a perception that the EU is very much against genetically modified plants and certainly the extent of cultivation of such plants in the EU is very small. I think there are like 200,000 hectares of genetically modified corn grown in Spain and, actually, that's growing as each year goes by, but it's pretty modest compared to North America.

Agriculture committee  I agree, absolutely.

Agriculture committee  If I've understood your question, and a couple of questions prior to your last one, this touches on the question of effects on the environment of these imports coming into Canada. Let's just remind ourselves that the proposed policy is about grain, feed, and food. It's all about materials being imported into Canada for processing, processing them to create more food and for creating livestock feed and so on.

Agriculture committee  That again speaks to the regulatory processes here in Canada. I think we've said this a few times. I think Canada probably has the best regulatory system in the world, comparable to that of the U.S. and the European countries, although they have a different political view about GM.