Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. I'm sorry that it's a little late, but I read the briefs and there is a lot of information here. And as Frank says, there are two solitudes. Our concern is how you bridge the gap. From our perspective, who do you believe? I'll put it that simply.
Prince Edward Island salmon was mentioned, Lucy, and I just want to refer you to what the FDA in the U.S. said on that product.
I will submit to you that non-GM canola is something we are extremely worried about in P.E.I. If GM canola got introduced in our area, we would completely lose the Japanese market, and the Japanese market is huge to us in terms of non-GMO canola and a lot of other non-GM and organic crops. The Japanese market is a premium market and important to us. And the reality is that we would lose that market just like that when they do their investigation, if there were a GM crop that could contaminate canola.
But on the Prince Edward Island salmon issue, the FDA has concluded in its analysis in the United States, AquAdvantage Salmon, on September 20.... I'll just quote what they say in this report. They conclude that food from the triploid ABT salmon “is as safe as food from conventional salmon” and that “there is a reasonable certainty of no harm from consumption of food” from this animal. They do say there should be another study performed on the allergenicity of the diploid fish and submit it for evaluation. They also talk about the adequate containment measures that appear in place in both P.E.I. and in Panama.
That's just to put that on the record that there are two sides to that story too.
Based on the hearings we held on Bill C-474, the two areas I am currently worried about are that things are moving too rapidly without perhaps the right peer review, transparency, or protective measures in place on wheat and on alfalfa.
If alfalfa were to become contaminated, you are right, we would have a real problem in terms of many of our organic markets. It's the base crop for organic production, and there don't seem to be many areas that study not only the food and health safety but the environment, the economic impact, and the impact on biodiversity.
So this is my question to you all. There are pros and cons on the biotech industry—a lot of good and also some risk. How do we get to a system? What system has to be put in place? I agree with what Frank said earlier, that the Canadian Biotechnology Advisory Committee would be extremely important. But how do we get a system in place where there can be reasonable confidence on both sides that the measures necessary are actually being implemented so they can be believed by the average person out there and by some of the decision-makers in the political process as well?
Lorne.