Evidence of meeting #44 for Agriculture and Agri-Food in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was corn.
A recording is available from Parliament.
4:50 p.m.
NDP
Ruth Ellen Brosseau NDP Berthier—Maskinongé, QC
I think we have a consensus that we want to see it banned.
4:50 p.m.
President, Saugeen Country Honey Inc.
We want to see it banned like it is in Europe.
4:50 p.m.
NDP
Ruth Ellen Brosseau NDP Berthier—Maskinongé, QC
I think there needs to be more research. Would you suggest that we have a one-year moratorium to see what would happen in a year? If we didn't use it, what would happen to your farms and what would happen to your bees? Would they be healthy again?
I think it's just absolutely terrifying to have all these bees dying. It's affecting them, it's affecting other animals and birds, and you're saying your children are sick, too.
4:50 p.m.
President, Saugeen Country Honey Inc.
They know what it's doing. They don't want us here today. They don't want you to know. If the chemical is banned in Europe, they know. There's too much money in it. I don't have the money to fight them.
4:50 p.m.
NDP
4:50 p.m.
NDP
4:50 p.m.
NDP
Ruth Ellen Brosseau NDP Berthier—Maskinongé, QC
If there is anything else you would like to add, to say to the committee, please go ahead. I don't have any more questions.
Is there a consensus that a one-year moratorium would be a good idea, and do you call for the government to put a one-year moratorium on this?
4:50 p.m.
NDP
Ruth Ellen Brosseau NDP Berthier—Maskinongé, QC
So everybody agrees that a one-year moratorium would be a good start. And investing in research, 100% research from the federal government...?
4:55 p.m.
Member, Saugeen Country Honey Inc.
Yes, a one-year moratorium is great, but if there is an effect on the equipment, such as the frames, the wax, and everything.... If the chemical is in the wax—
4:55 p.m.
NDP
Ruth Ellen Brosseau NDP Berthier—Maskinongé, QC
That's right. There would be costs attributed because it got contaminated, right?
4:55 p.m.
Member, Saugeen Country Honey Inc.
That's right. Well, it's the equipment mainly.
4:55 p.m.
President, Saugeen Country Honey Inc.
If I can give you a quick story, if you don't mind, Mr. Miller. We sell all our honey at markets. We go to three different markets. We take great pride in selling something from a family operation. We go to Keady Market, we go to St. Jacobs Market, and we go to Kitchener Market. We're family run.
Now we had a recall on our honey and it was really alarming, but that honey was all gone. It had already been bought. It was just over the margin. Now, this was in August—
4:55 p.m.
Conservative
4:55 p.m.
President, Saugeen Country Honey Inc.
You're allowed so much.... I don't have the documentation here with me right now, but I'm just giving you a bit of history here. What happened was that it was a chemical that's used in pigs and animals—hormones to make them grow faster. I just don't remember the name right now. Anyway, they had a recall of my honey, but that honey was already sold. When they took the sample, it was already gone.
They took samples of other barrels of my honey and it was all okay, and we were just over 0.2. You're allowed some in your honey, but the thing is that I could see where those barrels came from. There's a huge pig farmer and he went out and spread his manure in August, and it was so dry that the bees were thirsty and they took some of this liquid, and they ended up putting this into the honey. That's the only thing I can think of.
So it's hard.
4:55 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Larry Miller
Just again to clarify—if you don't mind, Ms. Brosseau—when you say it went over by 0.2, you meant in order to qualify as organic?
4:55 p.m.
President, Saugeen Country Honey Inc.
No. It's a basic legal limit you can have in your honey.
4:55 p.m.
Conservative
4:55 p.m.
President, Saugeen Country Honey Inc.
Basically, because I work for OMAFRA, they often train their workers on me. They always take samples and they train them. They have to go all through the summer with students to take samples, so my honey is regularly checked more than a lot of peoples' honey. That was just as an interesting point I just shared with you.
4:55 p.m.
NDP
Ruth Ellen Brosseau NDP Berthier—Maskinongé, QC
I just have a quick question. Where are your farms? Are they all in Ontario?