Evidence of meeting #147 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 work.
A video is available from Parliament.
Deputy Minister, Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food
For us, the study will allow us to find out, for example, how to be consistent with the code of practice. It can help not only with the regulations themselves, but also to ensure that they are consistent.
Conservative
Luc Berthold Conservative Mégantic—L'Érable, QC
Let me follow up with you on that. To be consistent, you would need to have waited to have all the data from all the studies. A lot of public money is being invested in this.
Deputy Minister, Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food
Yes.
Conservative
Luc Berthold Conservative Mégantic—L'Érable, QC
Consistency, to use your word, would have meant waiting for all the data from all the studies before undertaking actions that can have very serious consequences.
I understand, but I will change the subject.
We are in the second phase of the Dairy Farm Investment Program, or the milk lottery, as I call it. We know that money has been distributed. When will the list of those who have received money be available? Will it be possible to send it to the members of the committee? That would be really appreciated.
Deputy Minister, Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food
Clearly, I cannot tell you who has received money now, but I can tell you how much money has been allocated. We can send you an update and tell you where the process is.
Conservative
Luc Berthold Conservative Mégantic—L'Érable, QC
Can you list how much of the $350 million has been spent and how much is left?
Deputy Minister, Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food
There was $250 million for producers and $100 million for shippers. We can send you those figures as of today.
Conservative
Luc Berthold Conservative Mégantic—L'Érable, QC
I know that you have to send us information on the people who have received grants. When do you anticipate that?
Deputy Minister, Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food
The names will be published in the Public Accounts of Canada.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Management Branch, Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food
Yes.
Deputy Minister, Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food
Ms. Walker has the figures here, if you want.
Conservative
Luc Berthold Conservative Mégantic—L'Érable, QC
You can just send them to us. It's so that we know the status of those envelopes.
Conservative
Luc Berthold Conservative Mégantic—L'Érable, QC
I have 15 seconds left.
As I said earlier, I will let Mr. Shipley finish.
Conservative
Conservative
Conservative
Bev Shipley Conservative Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON
Oh. You heard me talk about the TRQs. Processors are getting 45% of them. Retailers are getting 55%, I think. What policy are you presenting to the minister to make that fair for our processors and producers? The suggestion is around 85%.
Deputy Minister, Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food
Yes. Just to be clear, the roughly fifty-fifty TRQ allocation is under CETA; for the CPTPP, even the preliminary allocation thus far is around 85%. That's sort of the number your were positing.
I think the process is as the minister described. I'll just take a little bit more time.
Conservative
Deputy Minister, Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food
Okay. Well, I'll just say that we work with the sector and with Global Affairs Canada to engage on what the sector is looking for out of this process. Then it is the Minister of International Trade's decision.
Conservative
Bev Shipley Conservative Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON
I now want to move to transportation, quickly.
In terms of the transportation of livestock, there's 99.6% compliance. It's like the front-of-package labelling.
Mr. Komal, I was surprised to hear you say that that given that we are an exporting nation, we actually need to make sure, in terms of our transportation standards.... Yet we're going to put front-of-package labelling on many of our cuts of beef and pork, and on our dairy products. It seems to me that if we're going to be an exporting nation, we have a conflicting message here. To our consumers in Canada, we're saying, “Oh, be careful, this is not healthy. This is not good”. But we're going to send delegations around the world, through our free trade teams, saying, “Listen, we've got the safest food in the world. You should be buying it.”
Is that not a contradiction, in terms of policy, for the government?
Vice-President, Science Branch, Chief Veterinary Officer and World Organisation for Animal Health Delegate for Canada, Canadian Food Inspection Agency
What I was trying to say is that animal welfare is front and centre for all consumers, both domestic and international. If you don't follow what is happening in the international scene, then I think we don't have that tool to negotiate market access. We need to bring ourselves to the international standard. That's what we have done. We're not there, but we are at least looking at the geographical reality in Canada, how movements of animals take place and how the systems have changed since 1976, when this regulation was put in place.
Conservative
