Thank you.
Honourable members of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food, on behalf of the Canadian Produce Marketing Association, I'd like to thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today on the study of clauses 44, 46, 53 and 59 of Bill C-4.
The Canadian Produce Marketing Association is a 95-year-old not-for-profit trade association, representing more than 860 member companies doing business in Canada within a supply chain that contributes $17.4 billion in real GDP and supports roughly 249,000 jobs here in Canada. In addition, the fruit and vegetable sector in Canada supports $9.8 billion in wages and salaries. Combined, CPMA members are responsible for 90% of fresh fruits and vegetables purchased by Canadians. As an industry association, CPMA represents the entire fresh fruit and vegetable supply chain, from farm gate to dinner plate.
Our comments are reflective of a wide array of members across the supply chain, who work daily to provide Canadians with the fresh and healthy fruit and vegetable options they demand. That's right from growers all the way through to retail and food service.
The produce industry is a unique entity. This important economic engine is made up of rural, provincial, national and international companies, all working together to increase consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables. CPMA represents the industry in all areas of impact, including sustainability—which currently includes a significant effort around packaging—research, innovation, infrastructure, regulatory modernization and trade, to name but a few.
Since the implementation of the previous North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, in 1994, Canadian fresh fruit and vegetable exports to Mexico and the U.S. have increased by approximately 396% when adjusted for inflation. This growth is indicative of the importance of tariff-free trade and the integration of our marketplace within North America and within the fresh produce industry.
The integrated North American supply chain also continues to be an important tool in ensuring that Canadian consumers have a consistent and diverse supply of fresh fruits and vegetables year-round, despite a relatively short growing season here domestically.
In order to meet the Canadian government's agri-food export target of 2025, and to ensure that Canadians can meet the recommendation in Canada's food guide that they fill half their plates with fresh fruits and vegetables, the continuation of tariff-free access under CUSMA is essential.
As a side note, industry is pleased that the final text of CUSMA does not include any changes to trade remedy laws related to seasonality and produce. This is an area we're going to continue to be watching, because our understanding is that there is pressure to the USTR still by certain pockets within the U.S. industry. That is one thing we wanted to put on your radar. We stand committed to ratification of CUSMA, and on behalf of industry we are therefore pleased to appear before you today.
Specific to why we are here today, I offer the following comments on clauses 44, 46, 53 and 59 of Bill C-4. Our understanding of the change to subsection 6.2(1.1) of the Export and Import Permits Act, proposed in subclause 44(1), is that it's a simple change to remove the reference to CETA—I think the wording is “for the purpose of implementing CETA”—which we support. Clause 44 relates specifically to dairy products, which is not within the mandate of CPMA and wouldn't be appropriate for us to speak to.
Clause 46 appears to be a simple change to add the text “respecting export charges referred to in subsection 6.?2(5)”. However, unless we are mistaken, there is no subsection 6.2(5) in the Export and Import Permits Act. We're going to reserve comment until that's clarified. It's unlikely that we would object to the export charges if they reflect current practice, but we'd appreciate understanding that text. My apologies if we misunderstood, but I've gone through it a few times and I just don't see that. It ends at 6.2(4).
Clause 53 refers to the Fertilizers Act. Since we do not have the expertise to comment on the specifics of that, we're going to defer to and support our colleagues at both Fertilizer Canada and the Canadian Horticultural Council on this clause. We would like to note that, in general, our industry is very reliant on inputs for fresh fruit and vegetables to continue to provide capacity for production here in Canada. Obviously, we'd like to see the fertilizer inputs remain in place.
Clause 59 refers to the Canada Grain Act. Again, that's outside of our mandate, so we will defer to our colleagues in that sector.
In closing, I would like to underscore our support for the ratification of CUSMA and Bill C-4.
Thank you for the time to present today on behalf of our industry.