Agriculture Committee on May 27th, 2021

[Chris Forbes]

Thanks for the question.

The main estimates themselves don't have anything specific for the north. I would point out that we have done a few things over the last year in particular, through Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, through the local food infrastructure fund and the emergency food security fund that we provided, including, in October 2020, $30 million for Indigenous Services Canada to support local food security as part of its indigenous community support fund.

We also, as part of last year's programming, had a surplus food rescue program. Three of the nine projects we had under that program were redirecting surplus food to indigenous communities in the Prairies, in Nova Scotia and also in Nunavut.

There's ongoing programming in our ministry, and of course, then, Mr. Ellis, there are programs through Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada and Indigenous Services Canada, and indeed ESDC, on support for communities for poverty reduction.

[Neil Ellis, Liberal, Bay of Quinte, ON]

Thank you.

That's the end of my questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Pat Finnigan]

Thank you, Mr. Ellis.

Now we'll move to Monsieur Perron for six minutes.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I would like to thank the officials for being able to make themselves available to participate in the meeting this afternoon.

I'll talk about exports first, a topic we touched on quickly with the minister earlier.

They say they want to put a lot of emphasis on exports, on access to international markets. Of course, there will be requests from other countries eventually.

I come back, however, to the issue of reciprocity of standards and actual access to those markets.

Mr. Forbes, has any money been put into adapting, in particular, our beef production so that it can access the European market? Can you speak more to that?

[Chris Forbes]

I would ask Ms. Lapointe to answer the question.

[Sylvie Lapointe]

Thank you for the question.

In fact, when we negotiate agreements with other countries, reciprocity standards are in place.

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

Has money been set aside to help the industry gain access to the European market, among other things? Our meat producers were supposed to have access to it, but they still don't have it, whereas we have given access to our market for cheese and everything else in return.

[Chris Forbes]

Ms. Lapointe, can you answer the question?

[Sylvie Lapointe]

I'll let you answer that instead, Mr. Forbes.

As far as the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, or CFIA, is concerned, there is no funding to support the industry with respect to these efforts.

[Chris Forbes]

Our department has funding for that. The Market Access Secretariat is working closely with the sector on engagement with all other countries, particularly on non-tariff barriers or regulations that put barriers to our exports in order to remove them and ensure better market access.

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

I will approach the issue from a different angle, namely, respecting the reciprocity of imported product standards and CFIA resources.

I'm thinking, for example, of chicken farmers, who probably have all met with us. They talked about imported spent hens and the possibility of including a means of verification, which is the DNA test they developed. They would offer it for free, and it wouldn't cost a lot of money.

Is there any money set aside for the introduction of this test or similar measures to ensure that what we impose locally on our producers is also respected by outsiders who sell to us?

[Sylvie Lapointe]

With respect to imports, the Safe Food for Canadians Act provides that the obligations and standards are the same for both imports and domestic products.

For spent hens, we tried to work with industry stakeholders on a DNA test. Unfortunately, this test is not comprehensive enough to cover all poultry lines used in the industry. In addition, we face challenges. If legal action is taken, a fine may be issued.

So we continue to work on this issue, particularly with our colleagues at the Canada Border Services Agency. In recent years, we have already seized products and put in place administrative penalties for the spent hens.

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

Thank you.

You said that DNA testing isn't suitable for all species, but that's not what I've been told.

Can you explain a little bit about what this is all about?

[Sylvie Lapointe]

My understanding is that the DNA test isn't applicable to all poultry lines used in the industry, which poses challenges for us in identifying spent hens.

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

Okay.

Can you talk about the current review of import quotas, among other things, for the agreement with the European Union?

I know that people in the industry have been consulted. Will we hear anything about that soon or any guidelines? Are you able to speak to that?

[Chris Forbes]

You're talking about tariff rate quotas for imports into Canada, right?

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

Yes, that's right.

[Chris Forbes]

This is part of a consultation process managed by the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development. We are involved in the discussions, but this is really within the purview of that department.

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

In the last Parliament, the Canadian Dairy Commission's credit rating was increased from $300 million to $500 million. I would like to know what the result has been, concretely.

Did this represent an increase in spending?

Has this been effective?

[Chris Forbes]

As you mentioned, its credit rating was increased, which gave it the flexibility to borrow, if necessary, and avoid the waste of surplus in the dairy market last year. Fortunately, it did not need to use it during the pandemic, as the market stabilized in the spring and summer. It is more of an insurance policy, in case it is needed in the future.

[The Chair, Liberal, Pat Finnigan]

You have five seconds left, Mr. Perron.

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

Okay.

[The Chair, Liberal, Pat Finnigan]

Thank you, Mr. Perron.

We'll go to Mr. MacGregor for six minutes.

Go ahead, please.

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

Mr. Chair, was that for six or five minutes? Can you confirm?

[The Chair, Liberal, Pat Finnigan]

It's six minutes, Mr. MacGregor.