Agriculture Committee on May 28th, 2019

[Joe Peschisolido, Liberal, Steveston—Richmond East, BC]

The following question is to both of you, Mr. Stewart and Mr. Nadeau.

Mr. Longfield talked about co-operation between and amongst your companies. The hog industry isn't one huge industry. Yes, there are supply chains, but I'm assuming that the precautions and what has to be done in Quebec would be or could be different from in Ontario and Manitoba. Is that accurate? What kind of co-operation would be required within industry, and also working with governments at both the federal and the provincial levels?

[Iain Stewart]

I've never seen the level of co-operation that exists today in the industry. I don't work directly with Mr. Nadeau. He would work with my boss, but I work with Sylvain who works for Mr. Nadeau and who is excellent. We were at the symposium that Olymel ran in western Canada. Even down to the provincial producer level, people were lined up wanting to know what we need to do in order to manage better for this.

I think with government it's been good. We just need to move faster and we need to be better allocators of our resources. We can do certain things that are good for the industry and others can do stuff that's good for the industry, but we're going to have to split that up, agree to work together and push it forward.

I personally do not believe I've ever seen it as aligned as it is today to take advantage of that.

[Joe Peschisolido, Liberal, Steveston—Richmond East, BC]

How about you, Mr. Nadeau? Would you like to kick in on this?

[Réjean Nadeau]

I completely agree. The positive side of African swine fever, if there is one, will be that it has brought all the forces together to work toward finding solutions. I think we must continue to build on that momentum.

I would remind you, as my colleague from Maple Leaf did, that in the short and medium term, we must ensure that this type of disease affecting animals is no longer a complete impediment to international trade. It is important that we find a way, whether through zoning or some other means, to continue our trade with major countries.

[Joe Peschisolido, Liberal, Steveston—Richmond East, BC]

Mr. Stewart, you mentioned four considerations or four planks in a possible policy approach. In the 30 seconds left, is there anything you want to highlight in those four areas?

[Iain Stewart]

Outside of the push with the OIE and managing for the trade, I think that in front of us now is aggressive surveillance and how we want to handle that surveillance across Canada—lined up properly provincially and federally. That could use some investment and support. I think that's the right next step for us. We are going to require that in order to build those zones and those compartments.

[The Chair, Liberal, Pat Finnigan]

Thank you, Mr. Stewart. Thank you, Mr. Peschisolido.

Now we have Monsieur Drouin for six minutes.

[Francis Drouin, Liberal, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Thank you.

Let me start with the representative from Maple Leaf Foods.

Mr. Stewart, I've seen what you've aligned and you've asked, “Why don't we have a vaccine?”

I'm curious to know this. To your knowledge, is there Canadian co-operation to invest in research for a potential vaccine in Canada? Is there a global effort to find a vaccine, or not really?

[Iain Stewart]

There absolutely is a global effort to find a vaccine. Unfortunately, the timeline that we hear about, because of the nature of the disease, is a minimum of three years and up to 10.

There is some work being done in Canada around looking for tests and being able to test, but candidly, that's being funded by the U.S. They're funding it in Canadian universities. It's not being funded by us.

[Francis Drouin, Liberal, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Is there a researcher in Canada who would be really well equipped to take the bull by the horns and run with that?

[Iain Stewart]

For this bit, I would probably need to talk to Rory. He's a lot closer to that than I would be, but I can get you a name, or a series of names, if required.

[Francis Drouin, Liberal, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Okay.

Mr. Nadeau, from Olymel, do you know whether Quebec researchers are trying to find a possible vaccine?

[Réjean Nadeau]

Research work is being conducted. I don't have a name, but with the magnitude of the consequences of this disease, all the major pharmaceutical companies are certainly looking for a vaccine. The first one to find it will benefit the most.

[Francis Drouin, Liberal, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Yes, exactly.

Then there will be production issues. We will talk about that battle when the time comes.

Mr. Stewart, you've mentioned the kill step in the meat sector. I think I heard.... I walked in just when there was the example in Japan, where they test the meat right at the end. Is that what you were referring to?

[Iain Stewart]

What I'm referring to is.... The meat itself is perfectly fine for humans. There is no issue for humans. However, one of the things we know is that, if this happens, people will be concerned. Whether you tell people there is no harm in it—or not—people will be concerned.

The ability to point to a kill step of some kind...and by kill step, I mean the disease is dead. It is not live. Therefore, you wouldn't have to worry about it if it was fed somewhere else. It would be good for the balance of the food chain as you go through further processing.

Heat will kill it. We're not sure about ultra-high pressure. We're trying to get some of that tested. We're not sure about radiation and how that would work. I think people around the world are now starting to take a look at what we could say to consumers later on—even though the meat is safe—that would allow them to feel a degree of comfort.

[Francis Drouin, Liberal, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Mr. Dickson mentioned the concept of a North American fortress approach. I know there was an agreement last week with the U.S., but do you also work with your U.S. counterparts to ensure we have a safe food supply, not only in Canada but also in North America? Is that something you see as a positive as well?

[Iain Stewart]

Yes, it is. It's a positive.

We're on a couple of teams that are out of the U.S. We are at the same table with Tyson, Seaboard and Smithfield—all the main players in the U.S.—and we share whatever we get out of that with our Canadian counterparts, so it's plugged in. There is a lot of effort going on there. We can learn from what the U.S. is doing about what works and what doesn't work. They can learn from us what does and doesn't work. It's much more collaborative than it probably ever was in the past.

[Francis Drouin, Liberal, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Mr. Nadeau, a witness was talking to us earlier about a North American approach, rather than focusing on animal safety in our own country. Mr. Stewart from Maple Leaf mentioned it, but I guess it's the same thing at Olymel.

Do you work with industry in the United States?

[Réjean Nadeau]

Yes, a joint symposium was recently held in Ottawa with the U.S. industry. We have never worked so closely with the United States. However, Canada and the United States are net exporters. Canada is to a greater extent, exporting almost 60% of the product, but the United States also has to export the product. It is therefore in the best interests of both countries to work together to find solutions.

[Francis Drouin, Liberal, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Pat Finnigan]

Thank you, Mr. Drouin.

Mr. Berthold, you have the floor for six minutes.

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

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Thank you very much, Mr. Nadeau and Mr. Stewart.

I have a few more general questions. I understand the urgency for the government to have a response plan if a case were found.

Mr. Nadeau, I particularly appreciated your comment about the OIE. The industry must be allowed to respond more directly without closing all the markets, because there really is no danger for humans. People can be really scared about African swine fever, but they are not told enough about the fact that it has no effect on humans.

Statistics Canada has just published some statistics on pork sales. In 2018, sales of pork internationally decreased by 8.9%, but China will probably increase its imports of pork for some time. How are those major market fluctuations handled in the event of livestock diseases? There are positive aspects to the situation, but there is also clearly a negative side. At the moment, Canada is benefiting from a positive aspect of the appearance of African swine fever, but, one day, China will replenish its stock.

When that day comes, how will we be able to avoid employee lay-offs and to maintain the industry's performance? That question is for you, Mr. Nadeau.

[Réjean Nadeau]

It could take several years for the situation to be back to normal in China. Some people think that the situation will never be back to normal completely.

But, all things being equal, demand has grown recently in all developing countries, principally those in southeast Asia. That is true for China, and it will also be true for Vietnam, the Philippines, and so on. So the production growth in Canada in order to meet China's current demand will meet the increasing international demand anyway.

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

Mr. Nadeau, I do not want to talk about the specific case of China and about the ban on the plant in Red Deer.

When we concentrate a major portion of our exports in a single country that does not quite have the same trading standards as we do, it sort of poses a risk for our industry and our economy. That is what is happening with canola.

What measures are Canadian companies taking to guard against that risk?

[Réjean Nadeau]

We must not concentrate all our activities in a single country. There are some customers we have to keep, even if it means a sacrifice in terms of a reduced profit margin. In the short term, we have to let some opportunities go by in order to keep customers for the medium and long term.