Agriculture Committee on Feb. 13th, 2012

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

But you do have a process in place, then. Let's say we're going to do an FTA on a trans-Pacific partnership, you'd already be starting...maybe not right now, because we're not in that agreement. Canada and Europe might be a better example. Would you already be strategically starting to look at that agreement to anticipate where we can have some benefit for our producers in those regions?

[Steve Tierney]

I don't want to oversell the amount of analysis that we're doing, but yes, and as it goes forward, we'll ramp up.

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

One thing the CFIA has done a very important job on.... I'll use the example of China and blackleg, and the quick response we had there.

Can you give the committee an idea of just how much it would have cost Canadian producers if we hadn't been able to do that response and how it would have affected the canola market back in Canada? Again, ballpark is accurate; just give us a context of the shape and size of the damage that would have created if we hadn't had the CFIA on the ground as quickly as we did.

[Steve Tierney]

It's almost a $2 billion market for us. We would have lost it.

That's the only thing one could say. If they originally were intending to ban canola that has blackleg in it—blackleg is a very prevalent disease in Canada—one could assume that a large percentage of our shipments would have had blackleg found in them, so the whole market of $2 billion could have been at risk.

Now, that's the seed market. We might have still been able to sell oil and possibly meal, but there weren't the crushers in Canada at that time to produce that much.

[The Chair, Conservative, Larry Miller]

Thank you very much.

We'll now move to Mr. Valeriote for five minutes.

[Frank Valeriote, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Thanks, Fred, Steve, and Paul for coming in today.

We've been undertaking this study over the last several weeks, and market access is only one part of the equation. I'm sure you fellows know that. What we've been hearing from most people up here is that the other part of the equation is sadly lacking, and that is investment in research, development, innovation, and commercialization.

Our business expenditure rate has gone down to 1% of our GDP. The average in the OECD countries is 1.6%. We're down to half of what we were putting into this in 2006. They're saying you have to create what people want, you have to innovate what people want, and help them both at the producer level and at processing and marketing.

I'm wondering if during your conversations you're hearing.... I'm sure you must be. Can you acknowledge that you're hearing the same thing? What, if anything, can be done to create a more robust environment in innovation and commercialization through Growing Forward 2?

[Steve Tierney]

Mr. Chair, if I may, I'll pass on the question.

[Frank Valeriote, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

I asked Fred. I didn't ask you, Steve.

[Fred Gorrell]

I'm responsible for the Market Access Secretariat, so my focus.... But clearly, the products that we're selling around the world are of high quality and they're wanted. I think the investment that other countries are doing is clear, and there are areas that we could also be working on.

I don't have a dollar value, but with the fact that innovation is one of the goals of the government, innovation in the agricultural sector is obviously something that needs to be pursued as well.

[Frank Valeriote, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Do you deal with the industry?

[Fred Gorrell]

We deal with them in a number of ways. We deal with them directly relative to market access issues, but obviously the overall area of innovation would not be my specific area of expertise.

[Frank Valeriote, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Okay.

Paul, domestic market access includes food safety. If people are going to buy, they want to know their food is safe. During the break, just before we came back, we heard of 224 cuts at CFIA—224 people. I've forgotten the amount; it's over $20 million.

I'm wondering if you can tell me the impact that's going to have on food safety. Do you know how many inspectors we're going to lose?

[Paul Mayers, Associate Vice-President, Programs, Canadian Food Inspection Agency]

I believe you're referring to the recognition that there are certain programs within CFIA that are currently sunsetting. That's counterbalanced by the investment of $100 million in the last budget in food safety, in CFIA. That $100 million has translated into renewal in terms of programming, modernizing how as an agency we approach inspection, with, of course, our continued aim in terms of the focus on food safety as the central priority of the agency.

As it relates to the specific sunsetting programs that were identified in terms of our report on plans and priorities, we will review those sunsetting areas of activity, and of course the decision with respect to whether sunsetting programs are renewed rests—

[Frank Valeriote, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Sorry. Can I just ask you about the sunsetting provisions?

I'm talking about the efforts that were undertaken as a result of the Weatherill report and now the decline in the number of food inspectors that we're going to have as a result of these cuts. I just would like to know if there are going to be fewer food inspectors once this new plan is implemented than there were two months ago.

[Paul Mayers]

Again, I can't tell you what the ultimate outcome will be until the review process of potentially sunsetting programs and any decisions regarding renewal have taken place. Those programs relate to issues that this committee has discussed, such as daily inspection in meat processing.

So whether or not it will ultimately result in any changes will be entirely dependent on the completion of that process of review of programs that are scheduled to sunset.

[The Chair, Conservative, Larry Miller]

Thank you very much.

I'll now move to Mr. Storseth. You have five minutes.

[Brian Storseth, Conservative, Westlock—St. Paul, AB]

Thank you very much.

Mr. Mayers, the Weatherill report came out with several recommendations. How many of those have been fulfilled through the government?

[Paul Mayers]

All of the Weatherill recommendations have now not only been responded to, but the actions associated with the government's response have gone forward. The government issued its final report on the status, indicating that it had completed all of the recommendations presented by Ms. Weatherill.

[Brian Storseth, Conservative, Westlock—St. Paul, AB]

Mr. Gorrell, from your experience—I'm not asking you to hypothesize—if Canadian members of Parliament are fear-mongering about the safety of the Canadian food system, does that help internal or external—

[Frank Valeriote, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

A point of order, Mr. Chair.

A legitimate question cannot be interpreted as fear-mongering because Mr. Storseth on his birthday decides he wants to call it that.

[The Chair, Conservative, Larry Miller]

I never heard that he was suggesting that your question or anybody else's.... Anyway, it's not a point of order.

[Frank Valeriote, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Well, this is exactly what he's suggesting.

[The Chair, Conservative, Larry Miller]

Order.

[Brian Storseth, Conservative, Westlock—St. Paul, AB]

I think I asked a legitimate question, Mr. Chair. If the opposition feels a little sensitive about it, that's not my problem.

[The Chair, Conservative, Larry Miller]

Order, please.