Agriculture Committee on March 11th, 2021

[Colleen Barnes]

Yes, our science branch has already completed that work. Right now, my colleagues in the operations branch are developing a test that would allow the Canada Border Services Agency to verify whether shipments designated as spent layers are actually spent layers.

We have other methods as well. Sometimes it's possible to identify fraud by what the shipment looks like, but testing can also be used.

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

If I understand correctly, Ms. Barnes, you are saying that we can expect that this DNA test will be implemented very soon. Is that correct?

[Colleen Barnes]

Yes.

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

That's great news. They will be happy to hear it.

Thank you very much for your answer. I'm very grateful.

I will now continue with Mr. Forbes. As he testifies before the committee from time to time, we're getting to know him a little.

Mr. Forbes, earlier you spoke about temporary foreign workers.

Based on the information I received, for many producers, among others those in remote areas, those in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, for example, the $1,500 did not cover the entire cost. Of course, that's not the case for everyone.

Has the department considered providing more substantial support in certain circumstances, if evidence is provided that costs have been exceeded?

[Chris Forbes]

For the time being, the amount is set at $1,500. We can certainly review that limit. Our colleagues in some provinces also provide additional support to producers. That would be another option.

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

So it could be considered if people requested it.

[Chris Forbes]

Let me be more clear. For the time being, the limit is $1,500. So we have to proceed on a case-by-case basis. If we are informed that it's causing major issues, we can certainly reassess the limit and check our funds to see if an increase is in order.

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Earlier, I asked the Minister about the emergency processing fund. She confirmed that the fund had been very popular, that it was used primarily for arrangements in response to COVID-19, and that the businesses that applied in the second round had not been able to access the fund because it had been exhausted. I am sure you heard the discussion we had earlier, because you were here at the time.

Can we expect an infusion of funds into the program for businesses that had already taken steps, that had incurred costs?

[Chris Forbes]

Thank you for your question.

I have about the same response: we will simply need to look at our options. We have the federal budget or we have our internal funds. To be honest, we get lots of requests for the fund. Because it's popular, we have the option of considering an extension.

At this point, I have no news on it. So I can't say if anything has been done.

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Okay, thank you.

Ms. Barnes, the other day I met with some goose farmers who told me that they have had issues with respect to inspection at some federally regulated abattoirs. It seems that it often varies depending on who is working at the time. The extent of the requirements and the amount of “zeal” can vary greatly.

Are you aware of such practices? Do you have a policy to ensure consistency with the requirements so that they remain reasonable? Could it be that practices that have been accepted for two, three or four years are no longer good all of a sudden? Are you aware of any such examples?

[Colleen Barnes]

Yes. From time to time, we do see operational issues in the field. I encourage those involved to work with my colleagues in the region to find solutions for those concerns.

I saw that solutions had been proposed to the committee. It's very important to us that processing in abattoirs and processing of imports be consistent. So we need to work together.

[The Chair, Liberal, Pat Finnigan]

Thank you, Mr. Perron and Ms. Barnes.

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Pat Finnigan]

Now we have Mr. MacGregor for six minutes.

Go ahead, Mr. MacGregor.

[Alistair MacGregor, NDP, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Thank you so much, Chair.

Thank you to the departmental officials.

Mr. Forbes, maybe I'll start with you. I realize my question falls mostly under the purview of Transport Canada, but it has to do with Canada's grain transportation network. We know it's quite a complex network. When we have problems in the Prairies, it can be a domino effect all the way down the line to the port of Vancouver. It affects my riding because when we have backlogs in the system, the waters off my riding, which are being considered for a national marine conservation area, end up being used as an overflow industrial parking lot for the port of Vancouver. We have a lot of ships at anchor waiting for their turn.

There have been a lot of discussions that involve the oceans protection plan and the national anchorages initiative. What I'm curious about, because I'm trying to assess how well Transport Canada is doing in this, is whether they have reached out to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada for your input on some fixes we can do in the grain transportation system in trying to make it more efficient. I'm curious as to the status of those conversations between different ministries, different departments.

[Chris Forbes]

We do keep in regular contact with Transport Canada and obviously all the players in the grain handling system. We talk about investment priorities, for example, at the port of metro Vancouver. Certainly, the grain sector's views are communicated, either directly to the transport department or through us.

As you say, it is a system, and so there's a great effort to work with all the players to make sure we're on top of both the short-term and the longer-term issues.

[Alistair MacGregor, NDP, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Can you talk about any initiatives coming out of that where there have been conversations about having a just-in-time arrival system? This all requires a huge system of information sharing to make sure that everything is working just so. Can you expand a bit further on any initiatives that might be helping to fix the problems we're starting to see?

[Chris Forbes]

I'm not going to give you any specific news on that front, Mr. MacGregor, but I would say that certainly transportation infrastructure funding is run out of both the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Canada. Certainly efforts to find the places where bottlenecks are greatest.... As you say, that affects both the farmers and the shippers with delays. We're looking to release some of those points, and we'll continue working on both near-term and long-term planning to prioritize and tackle the big issues. That includes with provinces, because obviously the provinces have to be part of some of these discussions.

[Alistair MacGregor, NDP, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

For sure. Thank you very much for that answer.

Continuing on the subject of grain, I notice that the Canada Grain Act is currently going through a review phase. The consultations opened on January 12 and will continue until April 30 of this year. I'm sure you're already receiving submissions. Can you give the committee a sense of some of the major themes that are coming so far in this review of the grain act?

[Chris Forbes]

To be perfectly honest with you, I'm not reviewing the submissions as they come in, but I think we've identified in the consultation paper some of the key issues that come up. Certainly flexibility in inspection service is one of them. I think another one is costs of service and support for producers to protect against bankruptcies. You'll see a range of issues that come up in the consultation paper, and we're certainly open to other ideas.

We will publish a summary report out of those. Those are largely online consultations, and we'll certainly publish a summary of what we've heard once the consultations are closed.

[Alistair MacGregor, NDP, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Great. Thank you for that.

I have a final question. I know that you and the minister have had a lot of questions about the funding that was given for the temporary foreign worker program. Employers can get the $1,500 to help with the self-isolation. I know that funds were also provided during the pandemic to help make workplaces safer.

Can you tell us a little bit about the success of that program? How was Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada keeping track of how the money was spent, and were the desired objectives actually being achieved? I just want to know about the department's follow-through on how the money was spent.

[Chris Forbes]

I think I'll go back a bit to one of my previous answers. Of course, in all of this, one of the key things is setting up parameters for the program: how you design it, what the eligible expenses are and what you're looking for in outcomes from the program. It's expenditure, so the applicants will need to show us that they are.... In the case of a beyond-farm program, for example, what kinds of changes are they making to housing facilities to increase spacing? In a factory, what are the specific changes that are being proposed to allow for greater distancing or barriers, etc.?

These are the kinds of things they have to lay out in their application, and we assess those. Then, obviously, once they submit evidence that they have completed the work, we also do an audit after the fact to check that the work has been done as was laid out and shown to us.

[Alistair MacGregor, NDP, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Pat Finnigan]

Thank you, Mr. MacGregor.

That will wrap up this portion of our questions to the panel.

I'd like to thank Mr. Chris Forbes, deputy minister, once again for being here to answer those questions, and also Ms. Christine Walker, assistant deputy minister of the Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food, for being here.

And from CFIA.... First of all, Ms. Barnes, I want to wish you a happy retirement. I think I can speak on behalf of all members of this committee. I really want to thank you.

May I ask you how many years you've put into the department in your career?

[Colleen Barnes]

It's 33.