Evidence of meeting #7 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 agriculture.
A recording is available from Parliament.
NDP
Francine Raynault NDP Joliette, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
My question is for Mr. Freeman.
Could the Canadian Food Inspection Agency do more for food safety?
Dean, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan
I'm not sure I know how to answer that.
I think the general answer is the following. From my perspective, the CFIA has certainly identified food safety as a key area and does invest in it in a number of ways. I think there is always more that we can do, and it's certainly a changing field, with new and emerging diseases and new husbandry methods and things like that. So yes, I think it's an area of importance and deserves added attention, but I don't want to detract from what they are already doing in that area.
Conservative
Conservative
Pierre Lemieux Conservative Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON
Thanks, Chair. I had a whole range of questions but now I have to focus on one.
The question I have is about the many directions that research and innovation can go. So I want to ask each of you—and perhaps I'll start with you, Matthew—the following. Within the organics sector, for example, what type of initiatives do you think would most benefit the sector in terms of research and development? For example, there are farm practices, there is new crop development, there are other things that can be done.
Are you able to provide the committee with some insight as to what the organic sector would see as the most pressing, and perhaps the most influential, innovation-type research?
Executive Director, Canada Organic Trade Association
Thank you.
Again, we found the clusters to be integrated in nature; and the industry advisory allowed prioritization to take place within the cluster itself in terms of the areas where there was already private investment and marketability. So I think we're interested in low-hanging fruit and in trying to pursue some of those.
In the longer term, I'd love to say that we have some really ambitious goals, but let's wait until the fiscal situation is in better shape.
Conservative
Pierre Lemieux Conservative Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON
I wonder if the cluster set-up has helped prioritize research initiatives within the organic sector.
Executive Director, Canada Organic Trade Association
I spoke with the two principal researchers yesterday and clearly had a message from them that it was a very successful model.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Larry Miller
Thank you.
Those were two questions, Mr. Lemieux.
Actually the chair is going to take the prerogative. I just wanted to clarify a couple of statements.
Mr. Freeman, you were asked by Mr. Valeriote about animal safety and that kind of thing in general.
Being a farmer, and a livestock farmer, I know a lot of the rules. Would you agree with the statement that in our animal trucking practices and animal handling practices generally, Canada is one of the leaders in the world in the way we expect animals to be treated as they're headed to slaughter or other places?
Dean, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan
Thank you. That's a great question.
I'll have to qualify my answer. As a relative newcomer to Canada, I may not be as well informed as others, but that would certainly be my impression.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Larry Miller
Okay, thank you.
Mr. Holmes, as I indicated, I'm a farmer. I don't come from the organic side but I do recognize that it is certainly a niche market that is expanding very rapidly.
I'd like to know if you agree with the statement that farmers in general are very adaptable. I've always operated with the rule that if people want me to grow pink cattle, I'll grow pink cattle—and I guess it's the same with organic farming or any other form of farming.
My question is: would you agree that if the public demanded that 80% of food production be organic, farmers would adapt and move that way? Would you agree with that statement in general?
Executive Director, Canada Organic Trade Association
I love pink cattle.
I would say that what we're seeing in the market right now is exactly that. There is a consumer, market-driven desire for these sorts of attribute-based production systems.
I think what organic agriculture has done is to introduce a full traceability system and, basically, in some senses invented the modern identity preservation system. What that offers consumers is something that really resonates with them right now, so I think there are--
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Larry Miller
Thank you.
We just have a little bit of business to do here, but I want to thank both of you for being her today as part of our study. Thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedules. It was very informative. Thanks very much.
Members, before we adjourn, could you start thinking about giving me and the clerk some kind of direction on how long you want to continue with the science and innovation topic? It takes time to line up witnesses and that is why I mentioned, at the start of the meeting, having the department here. For them to wait until the day before to say yes, we'll come, complicates our getting witnesses. So it would help us if you could think about this and maybe give us some direction on Thursday as to where you want to go and for how much longer.
The meeting is adjourned.