Agriculture Committee on April 28th, 2010

[Dixie Green]

Yes. I just wanted to make one comment about the wheat and barley. Perhaps our problems are that the world is overproducing right now. We have exported the technologies, and many more countries are growing the wheat, so they don't need them any more.

I have trouble thinking that we're going to get better returns if we put all our products on the market. At least we have some of it off and waiting for better prices. But my most important point is that if interest rates rise, with the leverage that farmers have, that is going to be the next exodus.

[The Chair, Conservative, Larry Miller]

Right. Thank you for that.

Wayne.

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Yes. It's not specifically related to young farmers. I think this is something that we may have to deal with as a committee rather urgently, Chair.

Layton, you brought up hormone-free beef and CFIA being a problem.

Hormone-free beef, that's what Layton said, I think. I'm not aware of what's happening there, and maybe I should be, but I took from what you said that we could lose the potential to export—I forget your numbers—if CFIA doesn't authorize the plants to get the stuff shipped. Can you expand on that?

What I'm going to suggest, if we need further information—

[The Chair, Conservative, Larry Miller]

You're kind of out of time, Wayne, but he could clarify that.

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Yes, I know, Mr. Chair. What I'm thinking, Mr. Chair, just so you know, is that I know we can't pass motions on the road, but if CFIA is a problem and we have next Thursday when we're all in Ottawa, then we can call an emergency meeting with CFIA on Wednesday, or whatever day, and bring the right people in who know both sides of this issue and basically pass a motion to tell them to get this thing done.

[The Chair, Conservative, Larry Miller]

Could you get us some more information on what you're referring to?

[Layton Bezan]

I certainly can.

Right now there's a program in Canada, and there may be other ones going in eastern Canada or whatever, but in the west, there's a program called Canada Gold Beef. They started a program at the end of February of hormone-free beef for export to the EU. They have customers who want it.

Right now, CFIA, the last I heard, has not approved a plant to kill it and have it exported from. Unfortunately, CFIA is not moving at the speed of commerce. It has become the world's watchdog for the Canadian food supply. We appreciate everything that CFIA has done in the past in terms of us having a saleable, safe food supply to our own producers and those from throughout the world, but at the same time, we can move this along a little bit quicker.

You know, we also purchase cattle from the U.S. Right now those U.S. cattle are contracted hormone-free cattle to go to European destinations. There are 15 plants approved, and to be perfectly honest, not one of them would pass the approval test in Canada.

I'm not saying we should lower our standards. Let's just get it done.

[The Chair, Conservative, Larry Miller]

Thanks for that, Layton.

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Mr. Chair, we have to put some push on this. That's just what I'm saying. Time is short. Maybe we could talk about it after.

[The Chair, Conservative, Larry Miller]

I think we can talk about it on the bus.

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

I really do think we need either a letter from yourself on behalf of the committee to CFIA or to hold an emergency hearing with the president of the CFIA.

Based on what you said, Layton, we absolutely have to give some direction. As I understand it—I wasn't at the hearing yesterday—somebody else mentioned it yesterday.

[The Chair, Conservative, Larry Miller]

We can definitely follow up on this, and we can do it.

We never have enough time, it seems. We were supposed to be on a bus four minutes ago, but we had a lot of good discussion happening here and I thought it very important that we finish it.

Once again, to all of you, thank you very much for taking the time out to be here today. We all know as farmers how hard that is to do.

Thank you very much. The meeting is adjourned.