Evidence of meeting #143 for Agriculture and Agri-Food in the 42nd Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was asf.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Pat Finnigan
Quickly, I'd like to welcome Mr. Sheehan. He is usually quiet, and that's why I didn't notice him. Welcome to our committee.
Liberal
NDP
Alistair MacGregor NDP Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC
Thank you very much for appearing today.
I want to start with the wild boar issue. I was just looking at a map of their spread over the last 30 years, and it is quite incredible just how much of the Prairies they're now covering.
I know that if you were to unleash hunters, that wouldn't effectively deal with the problem, because wild boars are a nocturnal animal. They become sexually mature at a very young age and are usually quite hard to find.
I know they're causing a lot of environmental damage, but is the concern of your industry that they are a potential vector, should the disease ever come here?
Vice-Chair, Canadian Pork Council
Yes. In terms of regulation, there is not much difference between ASF in a wild boar population or in the commercial population. You can imagine that for a pork producer, it does not matter where it happens—it can be in the forest—but there is an impact on us, too.
In addition, the vector is a pig, so it sheds the disease.
NDP
Alistair MacGregor NDP Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC
Are wild boars tested on occasion, when they are captured, just to make sure?
Executive Director, Canadian Pork Council
I would add to René's two comments that the other challenge is that if we do get a disease among the wild population—not only ASF, because they are vectors for other diseases—how do you get it out? If we get it in the commercial population, we're reasonably convinced that we're going to be able to get rid of it. We can take down a barn of hogs. It's not a happy day; it's a very bad day for a lot of people, but it is possible to get the job done. If it gets loose in the wild population, I'm not sure how we'd get rid of it.
To your point, hunting is not going to get.... You'd shoot 70% to stay even, and it's not going to work.
Executive Director, Canadian Pork Council
In terms of disease surveillance of the wild pig population, one of the files we're working on with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is in on how we do that, and how we do it in a very systematic, coordinated fashion so that first, we do the job properly— there is no sense in trying to do half of it. Second, we need to be ready to respond if we do find something. This becomes another element of the discussion.
Testing, and how to do it—the physical test, and whatnot—is in place. To your point about the complexity of finding and trapping them, are there some sentinels we could use on the landscape that we could...? If we have pigs outdoors, and we know where they are and where they are processed, or harvested, could we use them as an indicator of the disease status of the wild population, given that there is interaction between the two populations?
Those sorts of things are in play, and, of course, Dr. Komal will be in a little better space for you on that.
Fundamental to that is: Where is the population you can focus on, so that your sampling procedures are appropriate for the risk?
Vice-Chair, Canadian Pork Council
If I may add, what is important from the industry perspective is the lack of resources right now. We have devoted additional resources. Our staff is devoted to it. Producers are increasing their biosecurity, but resources are a key issue right now.
We would really like to see the government stepping in and helping us sort out some of these problems. We believe that PRA, the pork promotion and research agency, is a key point here. The agricultural partnership program is also something that can help a lot to address this issue.
NDP
Alistair MacGregor NDP Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC
That leads me to my next question.
You have been calling for the creation of a pork promotion and research agency for quite some time. Even in 2016, three years ago, during our current government's mandate, the Farm Products Council of Canada did submit a recommendation.
What are some of the reasons you're hearing from the government about why this has not yet been established?
Vice-Chair, Canadian Pork Council
We've met with the minister several times since 2016 to ask about it. They were saying that there was a concern about trade relationships. However, it's something they have in the United States. Every time we sell pork, there is a check-off on our pork that we sell there. They use it for their research and promotion.
NDP
Alistair MacGregor NDP Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC
So other countries would have a trade concern with us if we established this?
Vice-Chair, Canadian Pork Council
That's what we have received as an answer. As well, beef has one, so we are still wondering why this file is lagging behind. We think we would certainly benefit from it.
NDP
Alistair MacGregor NDP Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC
What are some of the concerns other countries would have if we had such a council? Is it that it would be an unfair advantage?
Executive Director, Canadian Pork Council
Maybe I could start.
Quite frankly, it is largely a bilateral issue simply because of the volume of trade. We export 70,000 to 80,000 pigs a week into the United States. We export a billion dollars' worth of pork. All of that is checked off by our colleagues in the U.S. at the National Pork Board. Ironically, much of the research that's being done is funded by the National Pork Board in the U.S. On some of that research being done up here, we'd actually like to be able to contribute to the effort—
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Pat Finnigan
Thank you, Mr. Ross. I have to cut it off here and move to our next question.
Liberal
Executive Director, Canadian Pork Council
I would just finish the idea that in terms of objections, we can't find any in the United States. When we speak with our colleagues down there, they look at us with kind of raised eyebrows as to why this wouldn't move forward in short order, simply because for probably 30 years we've been paying a check-off going south. They understand how it would work.
Liberal
Lloyd Longfield Liberal Guelph, ON
Thank you.
The pork value chain round table just met again. Was that the first meeting on May 8, or is that something that's ongoing? What's the schedule of meetings for that council?
Executive Director, Canadian Pork Council
The pork value chain round table actually started in 2003. There aren't many things you can think about where industry and government have met for 25 years.
Executive Director, Canadian Pork Council
I co-chair the pork value chain round table. It has been meeting routinely. It generally meets twice a year.
