Agriculture Committee on Feb. 28th, 2013

[Paul Mayers]

Certainly. Thank you for the question.

The initiative on importer licensing, which is part of the government's food and consumer safety action plan, responds directly to the increase we've seen in terms of imported foods and imported inputs processed into foods and our commitment in terms of the protection of Canadians.

One of the things we recognized, particularly in the sector of the food supply that is not governed by a registration requirement—foods that are regulated solely under the Food and Drugs Act, as an example—was that there were gaps in our information regarding the individuals importing food. We could undertake to cover food at the border, but we wanted to expand our ability to effectively provide the protection for Canadians. Using an importer licensing approach gives us ongoing assurance that we know exactly what products are being brought into Canada and, importantly, that through a requirement around licensing, each of those importers has to have in place a food safety plan. That's the critical advancement this opportunity presents.

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

So it's not just a fee. It's a development of a plan for each of the organizations that are importing food into Canada.

[Paul Mayers]

That's correct. So contingent with the licensing is the requirement to have that preventive control plan in place. That's the benefit side.

The licence also, of course, gives us the opportunity to better identify the players in that sector.

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

Thank you.

Ms. Raynault started to talk about the horse racing and the CPMA. Mr. Meredith, could you maybe expand on the role and educate the committee on what the role of CPMA is?

Then, Mr. Mayers, could you maybe talk a little bit about the CFIA's role in humane treatment of animals and of course in this case horses?

[Pierre Corriveau]

I'll begin, as CPMA is a separate operating agency reporting to the department. So just to clarify this, in fact the agency doesn't draw any money from the government. Basically it taxes 0.8% of any bets made in Canada. It's basically self-funded by the industry so it doesn't draw any resources from the department or from the government. It also monitors the efficiency of the betting to make sure that there is no criminal activity and, in fact, the activities of CPMA are covered under the Criminal Code. So the main focus is on the betting function and the health of the animal is a CFIA function.

To go back to Madame Raynault's question earlier, the bracket is basically the agency is looking at generating $400,000 surplus and it goes back to a fund that it can accumulate and draw upon in bad years.

[Paul Mayers]

Thank you.

With respect to CFIA's role, it is the same as with other animal-related activities in Canada, including our animal health responsibilities with respect to the horses involved, should there be outbreaks of disease. As well, the Health of Animals Act provides assurance for the welfare of all animals when transported in Canada. Of course, in the context of horse racing, there is significant animal transport and so the CFIA has a direct responsibility for the protection and welfare of animals in transport.

[The Chair, Conservative, Merv Tweed]

Thank you.

Ms. Brosseau.

[Ruth Ellen Brosseau, NDP, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

You brought up the health of animals and that's something that interests me. Can you talk about how we're transporting animals and if there needs to be any kind of change? We hear a lot about lobbying in the States to make sure that animals are treated fairly. Transformation or slaughter of animals is never something pretty or easy, but it's done. Is that something that you can comment on? Is the transport of animals something that the government would be looking at changing or updating?

[Paul Mayers]

Again, thank you very much.

Animal welfare overall is an important area of responsibility. Federally, the CFIA holds two specific areas of responsibility in the context of animal welfare, the safe transportation of animals and the humane treatment of animals slaughtered in federally registered establishments. In both cases, these areas quite understandably hold tremendous public interest.

As it relates to the transportation of animals, we have been undertaking consultations with stakeholders, not just the industry but also with some of the animal protection interest groups, with respect to updating the regulations on animal transport. As it relates to humane slaughter, the meat inspection regulations provide for the assurance in that respect.

[Ruth Ellen Brosseau, NDP, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Sorry. For the transportation of animals, is that something that the government is undertaking? Is it something that will happen anytime soon? Could you provide a written response, because I would like to ask another question—or do you have a quick answer?

[Paul Mayers]

The simple and quick answer is that we are in a consultative process with the intent of bringing forward a regulatory proposal in the Gazette.

[Ruth Ellen Brosseau, NDP, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

In the main estimates, there is a section about the development of rural areas. As the minister mentioned,

one size does not fit all.

We have seen recent figures that show that, since 2007, we have lost about 22,000 small and medium-sized farms. I am going to ask my question even if you cannot answer it in 30 seconds or a minute.

What are the expenditures set aside for rural area development? Can you talk about Quebec? I often refer to my riding, actually.

How would development in rural regions proceed? Can you expand on that a little bit, please? What is it?

[Greg Meredith]

I think I can give you a short answer. There has been some consolidation in the industry, and that's a long-term trend. Small farms tend to become larger farms, particularly when they're successful. We don't see negative impacts of that trend on the rural landscape....

I'm sorry?

[Ruth Ellen Brosseau, NDP, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Sorry, go ahead.

[Greg Meredith]

I was just going to say that to the extent that farm operations are still increasing production, that means they're increasing inputs, they're hiring more labour, and they're using more labour, equipment, and so on to distribute their product. We don't see a major impact on the rural landscape.

[Ruth Ellen Brosseau, NDP, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

But there is a tendency towards losing smaller farms. In my area, they're not getting bigger; we're losing some of them. Are there programs fitted to help the smaller farms expand and to meet the market?

[Greg Meredith]

Yes. There are a number of programs at the provincial level that we cost share, designed to help farmers develop new markets. I can give you a good example. There are farmers' markets that are emphasizing the consumer demand for local food. Plus, I would add that small farms are also eligible for all of the business risk management programs, from disaster, to AgriInvest, to AgriInsurance, and stabilization programming that reaches all levels of farming.

[Ruth Ellen Brosseau, NDP, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

I have one last question.

If I am not mistaken, the Manitoba Pork Council recently asked the government for a stabilization program to help producers. Could that be done? Are you committed to doing it?

[Greg Meredith]

We've certainly worked very closely with the Manitoba Pork Council . If I'm correct, you're probably referring to their hedging proposal, which is another form of managing the farmers' forward risk in terms of the market price for hogs.

The minister, as you'll recall, announced a program to assist organizations with the research and development required for programs like hedging, price insurance, and other production insurance tools, and also some funding for piloting those tools.

In this particular case, I can't make a commitment. The program won't come into force until April 1, and of course we'll have to look very carefully at the proposal. In principle, the minister and his colleagues at PT levels have made very significant commitments to expanding the range of risk management tools available to farmers, including insurance hedging and other mechanisms. In principle, those kinds of tools are going to be looked at with a great deal of interest.

[The Chair, Conservative, Merv Tweed]

Thank you.

Mr. Payne.

[LaVar Payne, Conservative, Medicine Hat, AB]

Thank you, Chair.

And thank you for staying on for the rest of our committee meeting to answer some very important questions.

I just want to ask some questions regarding the Wheat Board. I want to tell a little story. I know that when we were going ahead to change the Wheat Board and allow free marketing for farmers, I actually had about a half a dozen farmers from my riding in my office, and we had some discussion on the Wheat Board. I did indicate that there would be a new wheat board, so they would still have an opportunity to sell through it. I asked them directly if they would do that. They actually said no. I asked why, and the response was that they could get more money from the other organizations, which I thought was interesting in itself.

What I really want to talk about are the main estimates, the $53 million, and the grant contributions for the CWB. Certainly those are the transition costs, as I understand, and this touches on the important aspect of changing the Wheat Board and making it an open market. There are many more opportunities now for the Wheat Board. Marketing freedom for our farmers in Western Canada has been really positive. I've talked to numerous farmers, and they're absolutely delighted with this.

In regards to the transition costs in the Churchill program, can you explain how the government is modernizing and promoting the grain sector in Western Canada?

[Greg Meredith]

There are a number of modernization thrusts. The most significant one is the removal of the single desk. The minister also mentioned Bill C-52, the government's response to the rail freight review. This will provide producers with access to service level agreements, which has been a demand for some time.

With respect to Churchill in particular, what we've done is to establish an incentive program to encourage shippers to use the rail line up to Churchill and to use the port over the course of that four to five-month period when the port is open. This year, that program managed to incent about 412,000 tonnes of grain, including grains other than wheat. In the past, it was simply wheat. It also encourages several other companies to actively look at the rail line and the port as a shipping opportunity, and it attracted two new companies to actually use the incentive.

We expect that this will continue. There is more understanding of how the program works. There's also more understanding of how to market wheat using various ports as export opportunities. We think this year we'll see a very successful year for the Hudson's Bay rail line and the port of Churchill.

[LaVar Payne, Conservative, Medicine Hat, AB]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Merv Tweed]

You have 30 seconds left.

[LaVar Payne, Conservative, Medicine Hat, AB]

Okay. Let me ask a question quickly on CFIA, for which I know $11 million has been put into food safety. Could you give us an update on why it continues to be important and what we've done to enhance this area?