Evidence of meeting #46 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 issues.
A recording is available from Parliament.
11:30 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Pat Finnigan
Thank you, Mr. Breton.
Now, we'll go to Ms. Jenny Kwan, for six minutes.
11:30 a.m.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, and welcome to the delegation.
On the question of low-level issues, if you were to prioritize three things for the non-tariff trade barriers that we need to focus on to help the growth and the future of the industry, what would those top three things be?
Related to that, CETA is on the horizon. It will be coming to Parliament for debate at some point soon. Within the context of CETA, what are the three things in that particular agreement that you think need to be addressed?
11:35 a.m.
Vice-President, Government Relations, Canola Council of Canada
I'll start. Thank you for the question.
You mentioned three things in the context of CETA, as well as three things, globally, in the context of our priorities. We've spent a bit of time talking about two of them, science-based regulatory systems for both biotechnology, new breeding techniques, and plant breeding innovation; as well as science-based rules for crop protection products.
I would add a third, which is around food and feed safety regulation. When I talked about sanitary and phytosanitary measures that protect plant, animal, and human health, what we're seeing is that governments around the world are developing more intricate food and feed safety systems, which means that when we export our canola oil and canola meal from Canada, it needs to meet the requirements of multiple countries' food safety systems.
These are not necessarily intended to be trade barriers, but they become so when you have to meet multiple requirements, and it takes energy to be able to do that.
Those are three main areas where we're facing global challenges that would be global priorities.
11:35 a.m.
Director of Government Relations, Canadian Canola Growers Association
We would agree with those. It's really about making sure that trade is based on science and evidence, whether it's in the field of biotech or crop inputs. It really helps growers right through the value chain to have a predictable and transparent approach to trade if they know that the products we're using have gone through a regulatory process based on science, and that other countries with which we trade have that same basis.
Once it becomes political or other elements come into the fray, that predictability and transparency is gone.
11:35 a.m.
Vice-President, Government Relations, Canola Council of Canada
If I may, I'll add a brief response to your question on CETA.
There is a grains and oilseeds working group set up to ensure that the implementation of CETA delivers on the promise of the agreement and the commitments that were made during those negotiations. Therefore, in terms of CETA, it really is about making sure the working group has the ability to ensure that our grains and oilseeds sector can use the access that was negotiated.
11:35 a.m.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
When you say, “making sure the working group has the ability”, can you define “ability”?
11:35 a.m.
Vice-President, Government Relations, Canola Council of Canada
Yes. Certainly, these issues are complex. Some of them are not unique to Canada or to a specific commodity. However, what we've seen, as we described, is that the working group needs to be able to draw on the right resources within the Government of Canada and to connect with an official at the right level at the appropriate time.
As Catherine described, this would be both across government and at multiple levels within government, at the appropriate times.
11:35 a.m.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
What are your thoughts about the membership of that committee? Obviously whoever is on that committee is going to be key to connecting but also knowing what the issues are and making sure that those items are on the table for resolution.
11:35 a.m.
Vice-President, Government Relations, Canola Council of Canada
To date, there's been very positive involvement. We have had the chief negotiator for the Canada–Europe agreement be part of that grains and oilseeds working group. That level of engagement is very helpful and if that continues that will enable our ability to ensure that we're both getting across government and within the right level of government at the right time.
11:35 a.m.
NDP
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
You've mentioned the top three priorities. By way of specific recommendations for this committee because that's what we do—we'll make recommendations to the minister—what would your specific recommendations be for action that needs to be taken to enhance and support the growth of your industry and to address some of these challenges?
11:35 a.m.
Vice-President, Government Relations, Canola Council of Canada
The most important is that we continue to promote a science-based regulatory system through all our interventions—whether it's bilaterally, multilaterally, or through trade agreements—and the ability to further define that in areas where we see opportunity for a lot more risk in the future, the areas we've talked about today. A recommendation from the committee to be able to articulate that as a priority would be very helpful.
11:40 a.m.
Director of Government Relations, Canadian Canola Growers Association
Canada has an important role to play, certainly in promoting science-based rules to trade but also in its participation in some of the international organizations where some of the international standards are set. I know the government committed some extra funding to these international organizations like around—
11:40 a.m.
Liberal
11:40 a.m.
Director of Government Relations, Canadian Canola Growers Association
Okay.
11:40 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Pat Finnigan
Thank you, Ms. Kwan.
Mr. Drouin, the floor is now yours for six minutes.
11:40 a.m.
Liberal
11:40 a.m.
Director of Government Relations, Canadian Canola Growers Association
Yes, thank you.
I was saying that Canada does have a leadership role to play in promoting these science-based, evidence-based rules at these international standards organizations, and we're certainly very happy with the extra funding that was committed to them. But I think in this era that we're now in of increasingly seeing trade protection across the world—not just in trade deals—there's a risk of people pulling out of these organizations as well, or not using them for their intended purpose of being a go-to standard for countries to look at.
I think this committee could look at how we can encourage the sustainability of those organizations and how we can encourage countries to defer to those standards to facilitate trade.
11:40 a.m.
Liberal
Francis Drouin Liberal Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON
Thank you.
I want to go back to what Monsieur Breton and Mr. Anderson touched on, and that's process in lobbying. What we heard from the market access secretariat last week is that they do an analysis of the economic impact of their 300 priority list, then they'll allocate the resources that need to be available to ensure they tick off that particular priority. But on the issues of the low-hanging fruit, how are your organizations helping your members to advocate to get those off the table? Do you work with the Canadian embassies abroad? I just want to understand that process.
11:40 a.m.
Vice-President, Government Relations, Canola Council of Canada
Certainly I can start, and then hopefully have some support as well.
Issues of market access of importance to the canola industry are addressed collectively by the industry, and we engage with our members to be able to maximize our efforts when doing so. We come to government with a clear articulation of the most important issues that need to be addressed for our industry to be profitable, and we do that on a regular basis. For example, for the last six years we've had an annual meeting with the market access secretariat in the canola sector and we talk about our plans for the year and our priorities to address market access issues, including non-tariff barriers. We have an open dialogue, a regular dialogue, that helps that.
How we execute that internationally is also through our collective organizations in the grain sector, for example the Canada Grains Council. The Canola Council and the Canola Growers are both members of the Canada Grains Council and they engage internationally with an organization called the International Grain Trade Coalition, where we look at issues from around the world that are affecting the trade of grains and oilseeds and we can work collectively with our industry partners to be able to address them.
11:40 a.m.
Liberal
Francis Drouin Liberal Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON
Does the secretariat provide regular updates? Do they say, okay, here's what we've done so far, here's who we've met, but we need some help on that side so can you engage your stakeholders to help us on that side? Do they do that, or is it just that it goes into a dark room and then once the issue is solved, it's voila?
11:40 a.m.
Vice-President, Government Relations, Canola Council of Canada
The collaboration has been quite good. We have a very strong working relationship with the market access secretariat. It's working very well that way.
11:40 a.m.
Liberal
Francis Drouin Liberal Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON
Okay.
Mr. Halstead, do you want to add to that?
11:40 a.m.
President, Canadian Canola Growers Association
Yes, I'd just like to add one thing, more on a lower level for me because these are the experts here in Ottawa that deal with that type of thing.
I, or CCGA, as well as the Canola Council, have been part of an ongoing dialogue with our Japanese customers that flags any potential problems. We just discuss how we trade and keep an open dialogue. We have had relatively no trouble with Japanese trade, for example. It has been a communication process with the Japanese, and the trade has worked really well there.
