Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'll try to reset the mood to where we were before Mr. Easter had somebody go pull the fire alarm for him. We were talking about the issue of KVD. Mr. Miller and Mr. Lauzon set out our position on it fairly well. Listening to Mr. Easter, I couldn't help but tweak some of the things I heard from him.
In the last committee meeting, he said:
One of the reasons Canada is seen as the best quality supplier in the world is because of our grading system. Having said that, I think certainly whether it is the hog industry or the livestock industry, if there were another method of assuring the quality of the grain that we are exporting out of the country, such as using black box technology or something else, then doing away with the KVD would certainly be a benefit to growing new and perhaps more productive crops with other characteristics.
But what is at risk here is our quality control system. The minister jumped the gun. He is coming in with a proposal without the assurances on the other side that our quality control system won't be jeopardized.
I know Guy said that the Canadian Wheat Board has a plan in place. That's not what I've been told. So unless we can have a witness here from the Canadian Wheat Board and the Canadian Grain Commission who is going to tell us that there won't be a problem on August 1 and that our quality system won't be jeopardized by this move, I have no choice but to support this motion.
Mr. Easter is always very much in touch with the Canadian Wheat Board. He should read their website, where they actually talk about KVD. The Canadian Wheat Board says:
For the 2008-09 crop year, this means only one significant change for farmers: you must sign a declaration when you deliver in the 2008-09 crop year, attesting to the eligibility of the variety you are delivering. A declaration will be required by each company and delivery point that you deliver to. Truck load samples will be retained for monitoring purposes.
It goes on to say:
KVD assigns visual characteristics, such as seed-coat colour and kernel shape, to each class. KVD elimination will help plant breeders by removing visual characteristics as selection criteria on varieties going forward for registration. It has no material impact on Canada’s quality control system.
Mr. Chair, this is particularly relevant to Mr. Easter's comments. The Canadian Wheat Board's website says “it has no material impact on Canada's quality control system”. This is right off the Canadian Wheat Board website.
I had a brief conversation with Mr. Earl Geddes last night, who I'm sure Mr. Easter is aware of, at the Canadian Wheat Board. They have no concerns about the elimination of KVD at this time. Mr. Easter has previously remarked on Mr. Elwin Hermanson's eminent qualifications and his great expertise in this area. Mr. Hermanson is also on the record in supporting this.
I don't think I have to go into our position in much more detail. Taking into account Mr. Easter's comments, the statement of the Canadian Wheat Board, and the opinion of the Canadian Grain Commission, I believe Mr. Easter should be reversing his decision and supporting our side rather than this motion.