Thank you, Mr. Chair and honourable members.
My name is Shane Stokke. I'm vice-chair of Grain Growers of Canada. Grain Growers of Canada provides a strong national voice for grain, oilseeds and pulse producers across Canada. As such, we appreciate the invitation to appear before you to discuss the specific elements of Bill C-4 that are pertinent to the grain sector.
I farm at Watrous, Saskatchewan, an hour east of Saskatoon. I grow many different crops, and trade is very important to me to be fluent and real.
Our message regarding CUSMA and Bill C-4 is simple. We want to see it pass quickly. Our farmer members across Canada need certainty to invest and grow. With farmers feeling the effects of global trade wars, diplomatic disputes, increased input costs, higher taxes and challenging weather conditions, the last thing we can afford is uncertainty in trade within our own continent. We need tariff-free access for our export commodities. Canadian farmers rely on stable markets to succeed, and ratifying CUSMA will allow us to capitalize on further opportunities for growth with our closest trading partners.
Mr. Chair, specifically relating to the legislation before us, I'm happy to offer a comment, as per request, to clause 59 and sections under the Canada Grain Act portion of the bill. This section includes a remedy to a long-term trade irritant that both the United States and Canada have had. In essence, these changes allow for a levelling of the playing field. These changes ensure that all wheat varieties registered in Canada can receive a Canadian grade regardless of where they're grown. I should mention that a similar change was proposed by the previous government in Bill C-48 prior to the 2015 election, but it was unable to pass due to the dissolution of Parliament. We supported that change in 2015, and we are very pleased to see these changes being proposed once again. We hope they will be in place soon, with swift ratification of CUSMA through the passage of Bill C-4.
Over the last decade, there have been significant changes to both grain grading and handling systems here in Canada. This remedy is essential to the last remaining cross-border trade irritant U.S. farmers have with respect to grain, and we support this change. Under the current system, registered Canadian varieties grown in the U.S. and sold into the Canadian bulk handling system are automatically given the lowest grade possible. This change will allow grain grown in the U.S. to be graded here in Canada, and graded appropriately. Under the Canada Grain Act, nothing prevents companies such as mills from buying grain on specifications outside the grading system, and that will not change.
Currently a significant amount of grain is not sold in the Canadian bulk system. We would not expect that to increase dramatically because of this change. This change will now make Canada more compliant in providing reciprocal treatment to our trading partners, which we support and expect in return. This also highlights the fact that Canada truly believes in a rules-based system for world trade, and we're happy to show we will walk the talk in that regard. By removing this long-time, last trade irritant, it also assists Canada in growing forward.
While we believe there should be future reforms to the Canada Grain Act, by ensuring we're working on an even playing field with our trading partners we will be more firmly in control of any future changes to the act. This will allow strict Canadian stakeholder engagement for any future changes to the Canada Grain Act to ensure that any changes made are made in the best interests of Canadian grain growers.
In conclusion, CUSMA ensures continued tariff-free trade, establishing processes that help remove technical barriers to trade and maintaining vital precisions to deal with disputes.
I welcome any questions you may have.