Agriculture Committee on Dec. 8th, 2016

[Lloyd Longfield, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Thanks. I'd like to continue on that line.

Mr. Wells, you were in the middle of a sentence, and I think it's important to hear your comments. We have heard other testimony about the stability programs not working. You have some experience from when they were working, so please continue your train of thought for a minute or so.

[Stewart Wells]

There's been a steady evolution of these types of safety-net programs and income stabilization programs dating back to the seventies. The program that the previous Liberal government had was very helpful. There's no program that's going to keep a farmer in business forever if the farmer's doing a poor job or if the environment isn't co-operating. However, the previous program was pretty decent, and our farm participated in that program. If we had years of good crops and good sales, we could build up a reference margin. Then in the future, if our income dropped below a certain level, there would be a trigger, and there would be a payment. The program was large enough that it could keep a farmer who had 10 years of good crops in business for two or three years if things really went badly.

What happened with the previous government was that, for whatever reason, they decided to undermine that program. It resulted in thousands of farmers withdrawing completely from the program, because the triggers were changed so much, the reference margins were made redundant. There just wasn't the available assistance there that was required.

In our own case, our farm dropped out of the agri-stability program because my analysis and the analysis of Meyers Norris Penny, our accountant, said as long as your farm stays in the crop insurance program, you will never receive a payment from agri-stability. Therefore, there's no point in continuing to pay into that program.

[Lloyd Longfield, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Okay, thank you.

We're consulting here. We're also consulting across the country through the minister. Have you been part of any other external consultations on this?

[Stewart Wells]

Not me personally but the National Farmers Union is, and I believe the farmers union is going to present here again this morning on the topic.

[Lloyd Longfield, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Yes, they are. We have the New Brunswick folks coming in.

Great. I'm almost a New Brunswicker because I sit in the House with New Brunswick MPs. I have them on both sides of me right now, so I'm feeling the love. However, I am a U of M grad. I'm from Winnipeg originally, so here we go. We got back to the Prairies all of a sudden.

Ms. Meck, I'm very interested in what you're doing, and I'd like to share a little of my time Matt DeCourcey, my buddy, from Fredericton because he has a question around funding. I'm thinking of this. In the new policy framework, I would look at this as social innovation and as innovation on the farm through women and getting girls interested through 4-H. Sometimes when you're looking at funding, it's the words you use.

If you look at the innovation piece through your conferences—I've looked at some of your conferences online—do you have anything around innovation that might attract some attention or funding?

[Iris Meck]

Having women at a podium is innovation. I think that alone....

It's all innovation: to speak to the balance of life strategies, to find an innovative way to use your time, to learn from other women who have excelled in their career paths. There are ways to learn what's new, what they can do better, what they can change, and what difference they can make. Those are all innovative parts.

[Lloyd Longfield, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Thank you. It was innovative of the clerk to find you and get you here, so I appreciate your testimony.

I'm just going to split over to Matt DeCourcey, if I could.

Thanks, Mr. Chair.

[Matt DeCourcey, Liberal, Fredericton, NB]

Thank you very much.

On that vein, as you were talking about funding, I was wondering if you have sought funding opportunities from any of the regional economic development agencies. In Atlantic Canada, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency delivers a lot of the innovative project funds, and I'm thinking maybe this is a way to seek opportunities for funding of a conference project that is helping build community capacity in an innovative way.

[Iris Meck]

We've approached every province on two bases. For us to try to get sponsorship or funding for things like speakers, sponsor a meal, or do anything like that, as soon as I say, “I'm a private entrepreneur”, I get kicked out of the lineup because they say they don't fund private organizations.

When it comes specifically to the Maritimes, we have reached out to them because we've been asked to do a conference there. We were told that we would get no provincial funding on a regional basis because we're not from the Maritimes; we are from Alberta. That's another issue that we have. As soon as we hold a conference in another province, I'm not from that province. I'm not sure how else to approach it.

[Matt DeCourcey, Liberal, Fredericton, NB]

Is there a way to partner with a regional entity to seek funding, again through the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, which delivers an innovative communities fund, an Atlantic innovation fund, and other such pockets of funding?

[Iris Meck]

I would love the list of what is available, because it's so hard to find that list. I have tried networking and connecting, and then joining forces with a group that is funded. Like the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council, I said, “Let's join together. We're working on the same program. We have the same mandate. Let's join together and call it 'CAHRC hosts the Advancing Women Conference'”. They were not interested.

[The Chair, Liberal, Pat Finnigan]

Thank you, Ms. Meck.

Thank you, Mr. DeCourcey.

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

[Pierre Breton, Liberal, Shefford, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I also wish to thank the two witnesses for being here with us today.

Ms. Meck, I am very impressed by the work that you do, especially the awareness-raising work you do with women to interest them in agriculture. Since agriculture has existed for 10,000 years, your work in trying to get women involved and become entrepreneurs seems extremely important and interesting to me.

Women have always played a vital role in this area, either in the kitchen, where agricultural products are transformed, or in the education of children from farm families. The promotion of the role of women in agriculture is a project I find really interesting. I would say that education is at the core of it.

Do you have any suggestions to make to the government as to how to interest young women in agriculture as quickly as possible?

[Iris Meck]

Thank you.

I think it's important that we start talking about women in agriculture in grade school, in high school. Grades 10, 11, and 12 are most important. I recently went to a conference down in the U.S. and I found it so interesting that in high school they have programs specifically for women in agriculture, talking about agriculture in grade school and the job possibilities in grade school. They don't wait until university, when you've made your decision on where to go. I think bringing that into play, and also talking about 4-H at a younger level and starting to talk about career planning at 4-H, are very important.

[Pierre Breton, Liberal, Shefford, QC]

Thank you. I think we are on the same wavelength on this issue.

It goes without saying that women are often the pillars when it comes to raising children and their education. But things are not easy for those who would like to devote more time to their work— agriculture, in this case—since day cares are not always easy to access.

Are you doing any awareness-raising on this issue with the various government authorities, as it can be problematic?

[Iris Meck]

I'm not sure. It spans across every industry, across every company, every program. I really don't know how to answer that question. I wouldn't know.

[Pierre Breton, Liberal, Shefford, QC]

Fine. So basically your sector has the same problem.

Mr. Wells, the Calgary Declaration states that environmental sustainability and climate change are priority issues. Would your union have any recommendations to make to the government?

[Stewart Wells]

On the recommendations, I'm pleased that they are a priority in that Calgary statement. The only recommendation I have is to proceed on the basis of regulation, which follows from adequate and good testing.

The problem that Mr. Shipley alluded to before is that the natural world is so complicated that it's really hard to test for everything that needs to be tested for. As testing evolves and gets better, and as different parts of the system are tested, we learn new information each time.

My only recommendation is to prioritize the environment in a natural world, spend the money there properly, and not get dragged into defending some sort of chemical or business farming model that is better left up to others to promote and defend their own products. Do not to get dragged down to a place where government money is being used to defend something that later turns out to be a mistake.

[Pierre Breton, Liberal, Shefford, QC]

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Pat Finnigan]

Thank you.

Mr. Gourde, you have the floor and you have six minutes.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lévis—Lotbinière, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I thank the witnesses for being here with us this morning.

Before asking my first question, I'd like to remind the committee that I tabled a motion last December 6. It reads as follows:

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food conduct a study on the government's transitional program for Canada's dairy farmers and the dairy industry in the context of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between Canada and the European Union, and that the study take place at the beginning of 2017.

My question is for the two witnesses who are appearing before us this morning.

I am happy that the contribution of women to Canadian agriculture is being highlighted. I won't go back 10,000 years like Mr. Breton—my life experience has been shorter—but as far back as I can remember, in Quebec, women have always played a predominant role in agriculture, both through their work and through their role in decision-making and in farm management. Women really made a difference in the agricultural world as I knew it. I'm speaking about my grandmother as well as my mother and my wife. And in fact, there is a saying that behind every great man, there is a great woman. I would say that in Quebec, behind every beautiful farm, there has always been a woman's contribution.

In my province, farming women have gotten together. There are women farmers' unions and a federation. This has allowed them to develop and to gain a certain recognition from the various levels of government and the industry. These women have shaped agriculture in eastern Canada through their decisions and demands.

Mr. Wells said that agriculture has changed, but I think that in future, women are going to be increasingly present in that sector. Agriculture will be shaped by the various decisions women will have influenced.

In your part of the world, which is in the same country as mine, do you feel the influence of women on the decisions that are made?

[Iris Meck]

Yes, absolutely. I think there's a huge opportunity for women to be advocates for agriculture. Everybody is more concerned today about where their food comes from and whether their food is safe, and of course women are in that more nurturing area, so women make more advocate points with the public than perhaps the males would. They are just generally more believable and trustworthy when it comes to food—nourishing the family and food safety.

I think there's a huge opportunity for women to become better advocates. However, you can't just pronounce somebody an advocate. They should feel confident and very knowledgeable about what they do. Therefore, attending a conference like this raises that entire level.

I think there are huge opportunities for women to take more important positions and decision-making, even in agribusiness. A company that has an equal share or more of women in the organization will have better discussions around the table and will be more open to different areas and facets of agriculture than a group of men would. The decision-making is different in some way.

[Stewart Wells]

I agree completely.

I've been lucky enough to be part of the National Farmers Union since the mid-nineties. It wasn't actually me who joined. It was my partner after she had moved to the farm. She joined because Nettie Wiebe, a woman, was president of the National Farmers Union. She agreed with the positions and the public appearance of Nettie Wiebe.

Just two weeks ago, I was in a situation where I was attending two meetings at the same time. I was at the national convention of the National Farmers Union, and I also sit as a board member of the Western Grains Research Foundation. I was going back and forth.

The Western Grains Research Foundation is the largest producer-funding organization of varietal research and agronomic research in the country. At the western grains meeting, there were 18 aging white men sitting around the table, making the decisions, and having the meeting. Over at the National Farmers Union meeting, at least 50% of those participants must have been women. The National Farmers Union has been very deliberate in involving women, such as having a women's president and a women's youth president. The decisions made and the way of making the decisions is very different and much more lively, energetic, and vibrant, with new and creative ideas coming in when everybody is involved, rather than just one segment of agriculture.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lévis—Lotbinière, QC]

In the 45 seconds I have left, I would point out that regarding the future of Canadian agriculture, several witnesses have told us that very few people want to take up the torch. If 50% of those who do are women, we may see a certain level of success, given that the future of agriculture in Canada rests with the family farm. You can't have families without couples.

Let's hope that the new policy framework will take that duality into account and that this will be beneficial for the future.

[The Chair, Liberal, Pat Finnigan]

Thank you, Mr. Gourde.

Mr. Fragiskatos.