Thank you.
Good morning. It will not come as news to you that there is an income crisis in farming. We have a situation in which prices are dropping, regulatory requirements are becoming more stringent and there is a great deal of competition from imports. Our products have to compete with products from countries around the world, not all of which have the same standards. Consequently, there is sometimes unfair competition. This situation is further aggravated by confusion regarding labelling rules—the subject of today's meeting—which prevent consumers from having clarity when they try to select Canadian products.
However, the Canadian legislation on the rules of origin of products states that no one may in any way mislead consumers or cause confusion as a result of false or misleading representations or allegations regarding the nature, value, origin, composition, benefits, quality or safety of a product. We think that some things could be done to correct the situation and that they could be implemented in a way that would cost less. We think consumers are entitled to be able to make enlightened decisions about the origin or quality of the products they buy.
As regards reciprocal standards, the reliability of the Canadian inspection system and its procedures for monitoring domestic products enjoys international recognition. The same cannot be said regarding all the countries whose products appear on our store shelves. In recent years, Canada has established environmental standards, and a safety and traceability program. In addition Canada's labour conditions are among the most demanding in the world. All of these measures involve additional investments and costs for farmers. And these can rarely be passed on to the market, and for a good reason: it is impossible to determine exactly whether or not a product is from Canada. It is impossible to distinguish clearly which products are Canadian. We think it is essential that the Canadian government take a position and ensure that requirements regarding Canadian products are enforced just as stringently as those that apply to imported products.
We think too much flexibility is shown as regards the identification of products. As was mentioned earlier, the label "Product of Canada" refers to a product for which 51% of the manufacturing costs occurred in Canada and whose final processing was done in Canada. That means that a "Product of Canada" offers no guarantee about the origin of the substances used in the manufacturing process. This can cause confusion for consumers. Even if consumers are prepared to buy a Canadian product, they cannot, on the basis of the label, determine whether or not the product actually is Canadian.
Let us take the example of honey. A great deal of honey imported from Argentina is packed here and may be labelled "Product of Canada".
Our intention is not to prohibit imported products, but rather to ensure that consumers can make enlightened choices, real choices.
The same problem exists for private brands and the brands of major distributors. Some of them obtain their products abroad. For consumers who want more clarity about the origin of their food, this nevertheless means that the origin is unknown. We think the information must be simple and credible so as to help consumers choose Canadian products. This in turn will be beneficial to consumers and to the entire agri-food chain. We also realize that the label "Product of Canada" applies not only to food but also to all other products. We think food should receive special treatment because Canadian consumers are very concerned about agri-food products.
As regards the classification standards, the labels "Canada A", "Canada Choice", "Canada No. 1" and "Canada Fancy" simply add to the confusion. They may lead consumers to think that they are Canadian products, but, as we know, these standards refer only to the classification system administered by the CFIA, and they imply nothing regarding the origin of the products. We think this is misleading to consumers.
I would like to make a brief comment about organic certification. In order to meet European standards, at the end of 2006, Canada passed the Organic Products Regulations under the Canadian Agricultural Products Act. The regulations come under the responsibility of the CFIA. This is essential if we are to continue exporting our products to Europe, and to other places. Something rather disconcerting came out of a round table on organic farming and its regulations; a round table that was held last week. At the moment, the regulations are being studied, but they still allow the "Canada Organic" label to be placed on imported products. However, consumers and producers have long been asking to have this label placed only on organic products from Canada.
Earlier, we talked about the idea of establishing a brand image for Canada. The Canadian Federation of Agriculture is working on the "Grown in Canada" project. Of course we are involved in that. Quebec uses a label "Grown in Quebec" for purposes of identification. We think it would be a good idea to use that as a model. The Quebec government, which has just implemented a strategy to promote Quebec products, will use the label "Grown in Quebec" to identify products.
I will repeat the UPA's proposals: to introduce labelling rules that eliminate any ambiguity regarding the origin of products so that consumers can make enlightened choices, and, in this respect, to restrict the use of the term "Canada" so that it refers only to the origin of a product; to amend the regulations so that the label "Product of Canada" and its derivatives such as "Made in Canada" are reserved only for agricultural products raised and grown in Canada and food made from them; to review the terminology used in the classification standards regarding product quality (Canada No.1, Canada Fancy), to make it impossible to have the word "Canada" appear on imported products; to explain to consumers the definitions of these vocabularies; to require that imported products meet the same production and processing standards as those in Canada; to tighten up the import standards and to give the CFIA effective tools and increased power and the resources required to guarantee reciprocity; to strengthen the certification system for organic products.
The Union des producteurs agricoles is of the opinion that this public discussion will result in approaches that will allow consumers to make enlightened choices and producers to be in a fair position as regards foreign products. Decision-makers have available to them some realistic options that would meet the expectations of international trade. It is up to us to choose the right label.