Agriculture committee  I'll touch on the most recent question you asked, on the GMO labelling of foods. We believe that the food packages should be reserved for health and safety labelling, since there is limited space. We can't put everything on the label. There is no health or safety reason to label

Agriculture committee  Consumer education is extremely important. That's why five years ago FCPC launched the consumer education program in partnership with Health Canada. It was very successful. Basically, it educated Canadians on understanding the nutrition facts table on the back of the pack. Health

Agriculture committee  I would echo Sylvie's comments. I also think there's a real role for the clusters to be focused on technology. For example, the 2014 KPMG report on automation and robotics in the food processing sector showed that our industry is lagging far behind those of our competitors. If yo

Agriculture committee  Sure. Thank you. I know that previously at committee, there was Food Banks Canada. I know that although Canadians spend about 10% of their disposable income on food, there are definitely regions and remote areas in Canada where people spend far more, and food is not affordable f

Agriculture committee  Sure. We know that for packages of food products on grocery store shelves you can't put everything on a label. I think that's really important. In terms of what FCPC has done, we've launched a digital label in Canada. It's called “SmartLabel”. It was launched south of the border

Agriculture committee  Yes, it is. We are expanding it to other products as well. It's something that FCPC is bringing to Canada, and it is very widely supported throughout government, especially by CFIA.

Agriculture committee  Yes, and thanks for the question. At Food and Consumer Products of Canada, our position is that we do support Health Canada's healthy eating strategy, part of which is the objective of front-of-package labelling. What we think is important to do is to engage with stakeholders in

Agriculture committee  Food and Consumer Products of Canada would like to commend the government for its leadership in developing a national food policy, and I welcome the opportunity to provide our comments today for consideration. With the rapid growth of the global demand for food and the recent r

Agriculture committee  The Netherlands is an excellent example. I know that the department has done a study trip there. One of the things that I took away from what I've learned is that the Dutch think big. They think beyond their small place in the world. They think big, and they're innovative. The go

Agriculture committee  That goes back to the need for automation and robotics. As I was mentioning, why aren't we producing and inventing automation and robotics and equipment here for facilities that produce less water and that are more environmentally sustainable and greener? I think there are opport

Agriculture committee  I think there is always an opportunity to do so. The innovation agenda, by the way, is excellent. We're very supportive of that, and we're working very closely with ISED. The challenge we've continued to face for a long, long time is that the department says it's Agriculture and

Agriculture committee  The only thing I would add is that there have been successful models of collaboration in different countries—for example, in the Netherlands. I think that's really important. The collaboration can't stop at the farm gate. It has to go throughout the value chain all the way to sto

Agriculture committee  I don't know the specific program names, but from what I understand there has been specific support for many, many years for technology development and integration. That is absolutely key. Automation and robotics increase productivity and competitiveness and innovation. We don'

Agriculture committee  Absolutely.

Agriculture committee  To go back to the point I was making, it's already being incorporated by successful companies, because consumers care. Our products have direct contact with consumers. They do care about the packaging and the recycling and their commitment to environmental sustainability, so a lo