Agriculture Committee on June 20th, 2018

[The Chair, Liberal, Pat Finnigan]

Shall the preamble carry?

[Some Hon. Members]

Agreed.

[The Chair, Liberal, Pat Finnigan]

Shall the title carry?

[Some Hon. Members]

Agreed.

[The Chair, Liberal, Pat Finnigan]

Shall the bill carry?

[Some Hon. Members]

Agreed.

[The Chair, Liberal, Pat Finnigan]

Shall the Chair report the bill to the House?

[Some Hon. Members]

Agreed.

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

I ask for a recorded vote.

No, no, I am kidding.

[Some Hon. Members]

Ah, ah!

[The Chair, Liberal, Pat Finnigan]

Done. Thank you very much.

Thank you so much, Mr. Stetski.

You will be on every farmer's hat from now until October.

[Wayne Stetski, NDP, Kootenay—Columbia, BC]

Thank you.

Might I ask the clerk if it's appropriate for me to hand these out? These are jar openers. They work really well, so I'd like to give one to each of you. I didn't want to bribe you ahead of time, but I want to thank you now, including the clerks and any analysts who would like one. That would be great.

[The Chair, Liberal, Pat Finnigan]

Thank you very much.

We are going to suspend the meeting for a few minutes to give our next witnesses time to get settled.

[The Chair, Liberal, Pat Finnigan]

We now resume the meeting. Please take your seats.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee proceeds to a briefing on genetically modified wheat in Alberta.

With us today, from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food, is Mr. Fred Gorrell, assistant deputy minister, international affairs branch. Also with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, we have Mr. David Bailey, director of the plant production division. Here from the Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food is Kathleen Donohue, director general of the market access secretariat. Welcome to our committee.

If I understand correctly, there will be just one opening statement, from Mr. Gorrell.

[Fred Gorrell, Assistant Deputy Minister, International Affairs Branch, Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Canadian Food Inspection Agency]

That is correct.

[The Chair, Liberal, Pat Finnigan]

You have seven minutes.

[Fred Gorrell]

I'll use my time effectively. Thank you.

Good afternoon, everyone.

On June 14 the Canadian Food Inspection Agency issued a public statement regarding the discovery of a few genetically modified, herbicide-tolerant wheat plants found growing along an access road in southern Alberta. When the CFIA was notified of the finding, CFIA scientists conducted tests to determine why the wheat survived. The CFIA tests confirmed that the wheat found was genetically modified to be herbicide tolerant.

Since GM wheat is not authorized in Canada, the CFIA worked collaboratively with partners at all levels to gather as much complete, accurate, credible information about this discovery as possible. Based on extensive scientific testing, there is no evidence that the GM wheat is present anywhere other than the isolated spot where it was discovered. In addition, Health Canada has concluded that the finding does not pose a food safety risk.

While genetically modified wheat is not approved for commercial use in Canada, the same genetically modified trait has been approved in canola, corn, and soybeans for over 20 years in Canada. In these crops, previous Health Canada and CFIA safety assessments have demonstrated that this trait does not pose a risk to public health, the health of animals, or the environment.

The CFIA will continue to work with the landowner to monitor the area over the next three years to help prevent any GM from persisting in the environment. As a trusted science-based regulator, the CFIA is committed to being transparent and accountable. Details and information on the findings of the CFIA's work related to it, including a full report, are available on the CFIA website.

So, in summary, there is no evidence that this genetically modified wheat is present anywhere other than the isolated site where it was discovered. The unauthorized wheat is not a match for any currently registered seed variety authorized for commercial sale or production in Canada. This means that no seed sold in Canada should contain this trait. Buyers of certified seed can have confidence in their purchase. In addition, this wheat has never been seen in the Canadian Grain Commission's records of past grain shipments.

Canada's crop and food safety system is supported by world-leading practices in farm management and by sound regulations that are based on science. In 2017 Canadian wheat production was 30 million tonnes across an area of approximately 22 million acres, making it one of the largest field crops in Canada.

In response to this finding, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Global Affairs Canada, and the Canadian Grain Commission, as well as all provincial partners, have worked together to maintain market access conditions and to ensure a predictable, stable trading environment. The excellent quality and consistency of Canadian wheat has allowed us to build the confidence and trust of Canadians and buyers around the world. One of the government's top priorities is to maintain that trust and keep markets open.

In 2017 Canadian exports of wheat were valued at approximately $6.6 billion. Canada exports to more than 60 global markets. The top five markets for Canadian wheat are the United States, Japan, Indonesia, Algeria, and Bangladesh.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada representatives are in regular contact with Canadian wheat and grain associations and other Canadian agricultural associations to inform them of the impact of this finding on international markets.

We assured our grain industry that we would share all information available to allow them and Canadian wheat growers to make informed science-based decisions. The federal government will continue to work closely with provinces and territories, as well as with the industry, to monitor and assess the needs of the wheat producers.

Since the announcement, AAFC and CFIA officials have been fully engaged with trading partners on the issue. Canadian government officials at our missions and in Ottawa are in daily contact with Japanese and South Korean counterparts. We are informing them that Canadian wheat is GMO-free and that a test to detect this GM wheat is available should they need more reassurance that the unauthorized product is not in commercial supplies or in Canadian wheat shipments.

Posts in our missions abroad have been in contact with their counterparts, and senior Agriculture and Agri-Food officials have called the United States, the European Union, and Mexico. We also continue to engage with other markets. The Minister of International Trade and the Minister of Agriculture have also reached out to their counterparts.

At this time, Japan and South Korea have temporarily suspended the sale and distribution of Canadian wheat in their respective markets. This is not a surprise, as these two markets closed temporarily when the U.S. had similar discoveries. We have shared our test kit to identify the GM wheat with these countries and are prepared to do so with other markets. Also, CFIA officials are in close contact with them to answer any technical questions they may have.

This week, Canada is also hosting a delegation of Japanese government officials who are reviewing the analytical work done in the last few months. The delegation is meeting with officials of the CFIA and the Canadian Grain Commission, and with Agriculture and Agri-Food officials, as well as industry stakeholder representatives.

Agriculture Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency continue to monitor international market reactions and are ready to engage with foreign countries to provide all of the information and science-based evidence to maintain market access.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Pat Finnigan]

Thank you, Mr. Gorrell.

Now we will go to a question round.

Mr. Barlow, you have six minutes.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you very much, Mr. Gorrell and team, for being here to walk us through this.

We certainly have some questions in terms of the background on how we got to this, but also on what our steps are moving forward. Certainly, I think some of the frustration we've heard is that those of us on this committee didn't know anything about this before that press conference.

If something like this were to happen again—hopefully it does not—I think it would behoove the CFIA and the government to at least inform the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food about this situation so that we could be prepared to address it. I was inundated with calls from my grain growers across Alberta, and I didn't have a whole lot of answers because I didn't know anything more than they did at the time. I think one step that was missing was informing members of this committee about this, and I think that in the future we should be prepared and have some tools in our tool belt to address something like this.

I'll ask my first question. What was the contact between Japan and Canada before the news conference was held? Were there discussions between those two countries before the CFIA news conference was held?

[Fred Gorrell]

Thank you for the question. Your point on information is noted. We have heard similar comments from others, and we'll take note of that going forward. I appreciate that.

Relative to the Japanese government, as well as other governments, they were advised as the announcement was going forward. Senior level officials—I and others—were contacting them, letting them be aware of it, and providing information. There was no early or advance warning for any of the markets, but as soon as it became public we were active with all of our trading partners through our vast network with Global Affairs Canada, as well as making phone calls directly to them. We gave them the information Qs and As and waited for their comments.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

The other comment we've heard from our industry stakeholders is that they also didn't know anything about this until after the press conference. I do know that some of them knew literally minutes before that.

What is the protocol for working with industry when something like this happens? My reason for asking that question is that we have the western Grain Growers and we have Cereals Canada. A lot of these groups could have had a strong public relations campaign ready as well, not only for our international customers but certainly also for Canadians who are worried about a food safety issue. What is the protocol for working with our industry stakeholders on an issue like this? Also, why were they not included well beforehand?

[Fred Gorrell]

I'm going to give you a part of the answer and then ask my colleague David Bailey to also help.

This is new for us. This is a sensitive issue, as people appreciate, and information such as this can affect markets. I think we're all aware of that.

As you indicated, key industry stakeholders, leaders in the industry, were advised an hour or an hour or so in advance. We felt that was—and that has been—to keep the information that way to allow...so there was not any market disruption. You'll notice that when the announcement went out, it was after the markets were closed in North America.

We're always prepared to look at these things going forward, but we had worked and we had all the information available—Qs and As and other information—for the industry. That is the protocol, especially in this event, which is new for us.

David, is there anything else that you might want to add?

[David Bailey, Director, Plant Production Division, Canadian Food Inspection Agency]

Thank you, Fred.

Thank you for the question. As Fred has pointed out, this is new. It is new for the regulator as well. We have not had this experience previously. For all the reasons that Mr. Gorrell has outlined around market issues, there was a concern that if we did not have complete and accurate information in advance of having conversations with industry and others, it could impact the market.

It is a significant anomaly for us. At some point, we felt that from an openness and transparency perspective we did need to speak about it, but we had to be cautious in how we did that in order to protect our market.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Thank you. I would just hope that if we learn anything from this it's that, moving forward, we have a template on how to address these issues. I've survived BSE so I'm very sensitive to these types of issues when they come up, and I think communication and information are imperative.

Next, what is the plan for CFIA and the government moving forward? Is there an outreach plan? It sounds like something has already been done with other countries, for Indonesia and some of these other countries that have just had their special holiday. Are there other countries in discussion and that are contemplating blocking Canadian wheat imports? What is the next step for CFIA and the government?

[Fred Gorrell]

Thank you for the question. It's a good question as well.

First of all, in terms of my opening comments, we anticipated, out of all of the markets in the world.... We learned from the U.S. experience. In fact, there were some good lessons learned. Japan and South Korea reacted that way with the United States.

As I've indicated, we've reached out through Global Affairs to almost all of our embassies that we would be exporting wheat to. They have all of the information and were contacted. You made reference to Indonesia and other Muslim countries, where they're just finishing their holiday of Ramadan and have taken a week. Our embassies have been in and talking to them, and there has been no indication.... But for our key trading markets, we have talked to them. We've also made requests for calls at senior or even ministerial levels. At this time, for example, the Japanese do not feel they need to have a senior call. Instead, they put a team on the ground. They wanted to know the technical information.

Going forward, we are monitoring every day—and even at night because of the time differences—any reactions or any questions from any of the embassies or our trading partners. We're on it right away. All of our embassies, and that's with Global Affairs, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and Agriculture Canada, are very proactive in responding to any questions and sending out test kits if they're required.

We are feeling right now that we are responding to all of the requests, and we're obviously monitoring any media in other countries as well.