Agriculture Committee on May 19th, 2022

[Marie-Claude Bibeau, Liberal, Compton—Stanstead, QC]

I can talk about the high-level programming, but if you want to have the details of the breakdown, maybe Marie-Claude is ready.

If my memory serves me correctly, approximately $700 million were spent on scientific innovation programs.

As she looks at the figures, if that's what you're asking for, I will say that we are investing in science and innovation through different channels.

For example, we talked about the clean technology program. There is one stream for research and innovation. We also have the agriscience mechanism under the federal financing of the Canadian partnership agreement.

We invest in research and innovation through different streams. As you know, under the innovation department as well, we are supporting more of these innovative solutions. The supercluster is another way. It's out of the $700 million.

Maybe during the second round with the officials you can ask this question again and get the details of the $700 million.

[Ryan Turnbull, Liberal, Whitby, ON]

Thank you, Minister.

Maybe I could also follow up and ask which new innovations and leading practices in the industry you think have the most potential for achieving and building a more sustainable food system in Canada.

[Marie-Claude Bibeau, Liberal, Compton—Stanstead, QC]

There are a lot. I mentioned it quickly earlier, but I would say that I was very excited when I learned that out of the protein supercluster there is one initiative around fertilizer made out of canola residue that looks very promising.

I think that everything related to having seeds that are more resilient to drought or to pests is also very important, as is research around animal feed. I have in my own riding a research farm. They are working on feed for pork and dairy cows. It's interesting to see the potential around that to reduce methane. They also have something around the biodigesters. There is a lot of very exciting innovation, I would say, in the sector.

[Ryan Turnbull, Liberal, Whitby, ON]

That sounds great. Thanks.

I'm very excited about those innovations, especially when they intersect with our climate action as a government. I think we can see benefits across the industry and also in achieving benefits to build a more sustainable food system.

Are there any initiatives in building more regional food systems across Canada and working on the resiliency of our supply chains? Could you speak to those?

[Marie-Claude Bibeau, Liberal, Compton—Stanstead, QC]

Yes. You will remember the local food infrastructure fund that we've launched. The idea behind this fund actually came out of the Food Policy for Canada plan. We have supported a lot of community organizations across the country to enable them to buy some specific equipment to strengthen their local food organizations. We recently launched the last call, and actually we have decided to focus this $30 million on remote communities and indigenous communities. It will be less directed towards one small organization in a region but more on trying to encourage these communities to work as a group within a community, to build a group and give them the means to strengthen their local food infrastructure.

[The Chair, Liberal, Kody Blois]

Thank you, Minister and Mr. Turnbull.

I'd like to thank you, Minister, on behalf of the committee, for the work you are doing and for the leadership you have demonstrated in the course of our study on agriculture and agri-food, which is of concern to Canadian farmers and producers.

We wish you a pleasant evening.

[Marie-Claude Bibeau, Liberal, Compton—Stanstead, QC]

Thank you, and I wish you all a pleasant evening as well.

[The Chair, Liberal, Kody Blois]

Colleagues, we're going to take a two- or three-minute break to let the minister and some staff and folks of that nature exit the room, so grab your coffee or grab a quick drink. We're going to come right back, so don't go too far.

[The Chair, Liberal, Kody Blois]

Colleagues, thank you. We're back. We have officials from CFIA and the Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food. I know you're still getting settled in, but please just be mindful of the noise, including Mr. Drouin, my good colleague.

We're going to get right into questions for six minutes. We're going to start with the Conservatives.

Mr. Falk, I believe you are up for six minutes. Let's please keep the noise down in the room.

[Ted Falk, Conservative, Provencher, MB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to the officials for joining us here this afternoon. I'm looking forward to our discussion. Having the minister here was very interesting as well.

Just to start off, I'm wondering if there are any sectors of agriculture that the department views as higher priorities than others. For instance, is cropping more important than the livestock industry or are there certain aspects of farming that deserve more attention than others?

[Paul Samson, Associate Deputy Minister, Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Thank you, Chair.

I'll get right into the member's question. As the member perhaps knows, there are programs that support virtually every sector of the agriculture production system in Canada, so I think the answer to that question is no, we don't have priority sectors per se because we're supporting everything. However, a number of the programs are designed to respond to those sectors that need the most assistance at a given time, so they're responsive programs in that sense.

[Ted Falk, Conservative, Provencher, MB]

Thank you, Mr. Samson.

Just as a follow-up to that question, Bill C‑234 passed second reading. It will find its way to committee later on and we'll be discussing that bill further. Can I safely assume that the department will be advising the minister to treat all sectors of agriculture fairly and expand the carbon tax exemption to the heating of livestock facilities as well as to grain drying?

[Paul Samson]

If you're referring to Bill C‑234 specifically, the government is putting a price on carbon pollution as a critical part of the action plan, and that bill will continue to be debated. I won't refer to the advice that we're proposing to the minister at this point.

[Ted Falk, Conservative, Provencher, MB]

Okay.

Various sectors of our supply management system have received compensation for the different trade agreements that we've had. When it comes to CPTPP and to CUSMA and others, the dairy sector of supply management has received direct compensation, whereas the poultry sector has received compensation with strings attached, meaning that they must spend money on upgrades or improvements in order to access any compensation. Is there any particular reason that this was done?

[Paul Samson]

Mr. Chair, the government has been clear in the overall approach to compensation. The individual compensation agreements were reached through consultation with the different groups of producers and processors. There was a decision made jointly about the best approach. In some cases there was more interest in receiving an investment-style program; in other cases there was more interest in receiving a direct payment program.

Based on all of the different considerations that were taken into account, the programs were designed in different ways. There were certainly extensive consultations on those designs.

[Ted Falk, Conservative, Provencher, MB]

Thank you, Mr. Samson.

The minister, when asked about the whole concept of increasing crop production but decreasing the use of nitrogen fertilizer, did provide a clarification: It was a reduction in carbon emissions related to the fertilizer that she was after. Can you expand a little bit further on how exactly the department would see increasing yields while decreasing the use of nitrogen fertilizer?

[Paul Samson]

Certainly. I think to underline the point the minister was making, the targeted reductions are in the emissions associated with fertilizer use rather than the use itself, as I think you noted. There are a number of ways of getting at that. The minister also mentioned some new fertilizer types that are being prototyped for use. I think there simply are ways to use it a little more efficiently. We see a number of options there that can be worked out.

The consultations are under way as to how that plan will be implemented. We don't have something that we're pushing through. This will very much be a joint approach with producers.

[Ted Falk, Conservative, Provencher, MB]

Thank you, Mr. Samson.

My final question is on the whole aspect of honey and bees. We know that bees are important for not only the production of honey and our honey industry but also the pollination of many crops. We saw some severe winterkill this year. The minister alluded to some safe regions being considered for the importation of bees from those regions. Can you update this committee on how that's going?

[Paul Samson]

Chair, I thank the member for his question.

From the information that I've seen, we do understand that mortality is an issue this year. The minister mentioned also that it has been a challenge logistically during COVID-19 because of fewer flights and some restrictions, but the number of bees coming into Canada looks to be steady. We're not seeing a significant reduction in our ability to bring bees in—queen bees that are brought in specifically, as well as these packets of worker bees. Both of those channels still exist. Those bees are coming into the country.

We'll certainly be monitoring that situation carefully. If we feel that there is a shortfall, we'll look at ways to resolve it. In fact, we are looking at additional opportunities there. I know that the CFIA is working intensively on this issue to see what other options there would be if we need them.

[The Chair, Liberal, Kody Blois]

Thank you, Mr. Falk. We're at time.

Mr. Louis, we'll turn to you now.

[Tim Louis, Liberal, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate that. You know what? In reciprocity, I'll share my time with the member from Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill.

I want to thank the minister and associate deputy minister for their time and expertise today.

The agriculture sector has the biggest use of fresh water. I know how important it is to protect water for our farmers. I've had town hall meetings with farmers and other environmentalists, and we all agree that everyone wants to do their part. Protecting our water is very topical in my region and very important in Kitchener—Conestoga and throughout Canada.

On farms, we talk about surface runoff from pesticides, fertilizers or manure or of nitrogen leaching into groundwater, which eventually finds its way into our lakes and rivers and oceans. Again, I know that our farmers want to do their part for water quality. They're looking for support to make that step. Can you address how the government is supporting our agriculture sector to protect and manage our water resources in a sustainable manner?

[Paul Samson]

I think there are a couple of things to note here.

Certainly water is a priority for the Government of Canada and in the agriculture space for sure. You know that there's a commitment to create a new Canada water agency and to sustain the freshwater action plan. Up to $438 million has been allocated to this in the context of the federal-provincial cost-sharing programs, as water is a prioritized area of expertise and area of action.

One final point is that the department is working on a green agriculture plan that would integrate the importance of water into climate change and some of these other priority programs that are taking place now.

[Tim Louis, Liberal, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Besides protecting water, our small communities, rural areas and farmers have to protect themselves from water sometimes. For climate-related risks such as floods and droughts, are there other supports in the budget that we can work with for the agriculture sector?

[Paul Samson]

I think a good example of the response is the AgriRecovery program, which is for the negative side of water, like flooding, and getting on top of managing water issues in that sense. That program was used significantly in British Columbia last year.

[Tim Louis, Liberal, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Thank you.

Chair, I'd like to cede my time to the member for Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill.