Agriculture Committee on May 30th, 2022

[Rechie Valdez, Liberal, Mississauga—Streetsville, ON]

Thank you to the witnesses for joining us today.

My questions are for Mr. Everson.

Your organization advocates for the use of canola-based biofuels. Could you explain some of those benefits to us today and how they can be used in agriculture?

[Jim Everson]

Yes. Thank you for the question.

Canola is essentially a low-carbon product. It has been used in biofuels in Canada, Europe and the United States for a number of years. It has the potential to be modified into diesel fuel. The oil is modified into diesel fuel and mixed with diesel fuel. Over the course of the last decade or so, canola has been used in that way in those countries.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, for example, just finished a review of canola for use in the renewable fuel sector in the United States and found that canola oil can reduce GHG emissions—compared to traditional transportation diesel, petroleum-based transportation diesel—by between 60% and 70%. That's a science-based organization in the United States, a regulator, that has come to that choice.

As Canada and other countries focus on GHG emissions and look for output-based, easy-to-implement and quick-to-implement strategies to reduce GHG emissions, canola can be used that way in the transportation diesel system.

[Rechie Valdez, Liberal, Mississauga—Streetsville, ON]

Thank you.

Can you explain how we can make it more widely available? I'm not sure how available it is to use right now.

[Jim Everson]

I think Canada is on a road to do that. The Canadian government has a clean fuel regulation that's coming forward, and what it would do is create an incentive for diesel retailers to use the lowest-carbon feedstock that's available to them. Canola is one of those, and there are a number of other feedstocks that can also be used. Other countries are following the same path.

We're very thankful that the Government of Canada is moving forward with the clean fuel regulation, because it helps not only to reduce GHG emissions but also to diversify our industry away from volatile export markets.

[Rechie Valdez, Liberal, Mississauga—Streetsville, ON]

That's perfect. Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Kody Blois]

Thank you very much, Ms. Valdez and Mr. Emerson.

Mr. Perron, you have the floor for six minutes.

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

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

First, I want to thank the witnesses for being with us today.

I have a question for the representatives of Perennia Food and Agriculture Inc. Perhaps Ms. Haverstock could answer.

If I understand correctly, your organization serves as an intermediary between the government and farmers, providing advice in relation to the on‑farm climate action fund. I believe strongly in decentralization, because each farm is effectively a business, and the person best placed to know when to invest is the farmer himself.

For the future, what would you recommend to the government in terms of assistance programs to encourage people to adopt good agricultural practices?

[Jennifer Haverstock]

Thank you for the question.

I just want to be clear that I caught the entire thing. You were asking about the potential programming that we would recommend to government. Is that correct?

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

Well, I stressed the importance of decentralizing funding so there is not just a single program for farm businesses across Canada. In your remarks earlier, you mentioned that the realities in Atlantic Canada are not the same as those in western Canada or in Quebec.

Can you make a recommendation to ensure that the greatest possible decision-making power is on the ground?

[Jennifer Haverstock]

I would start by recommending that, at the beginning of the development of any policy or program, regions be consulted and that there's consultation done both at organizations such as ours as well as with industry to ensure that the programs are on point for the region or the sector that they're intended for.

For example, in Nova Scotia, some of the issues we have that may not be the same as those in other parts of Canada are related to the fact that we have very acidic soils. Liming is a key facet for improving fertilizer use. Making sure the money that producers are investing in fertilizer is essentially getting the best bang for their buck means making sure that the pH is at a level that nitrogen use efficiency can be used to the best of its ability.

Some other examples could be that in Atlantic Canada we have a range of climates, much like other parts of Canada, but one of the things we have been dealing with as a result of climate change is that, because of having waterlogged soils, we actually end up seeing a lot of denitrification and nitrous oxide emissions. It's a powerful greenhouse gas.

For example, considering that this is something that occurs in Nova Scotia, one of the programs may look at funding something such as controlled drainage. That would allow producers to readily drain their fields when there are high levels of rain or precipitation. The opportunity for installing structures such as these, like controlled drainage, means that in times of drought, which we are seeing more and more in Atlantic Canada and in Nova Scotia, we actually can use these structures to increase the water level in soils and make the most use of irrigation practices as well as precipitation.

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

If we create a program that rewards good farming practices, do you think it should recognize what farmers have already done?

Many farmers have been pioneers in their field. If we create an incentive for new practices, what can we do for those who adopted those practices a number of years ago? It has to be fair.

[Jennifer Haverstock]

I'm actually going to see if Rosalie would like to field this question.

[Rosalie Gillis-Madden]

Sure.

Compensating farmers for ecosystem services, such as sequestering carbon, is something other parts of the world are doing. I definitely see that there's great opportunity for Canada to support producers to continue doing good environmental stewardship on their farms.

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

Okay, thank you very much.

My question is for the representatives from the Beef Cattle Research Council.

You talked about the importance of pastures for carbon capture, the preservation of threatened species, and so forth. You also talked about methane emissions from cattle.

How beneficial would it be to keep the cattle pastures? Do you have any figures to share in that regard?

[Andrea Brocklebank]

I think what we understand is that we continue to focus on reducing our greenhouse gas emissions. We've seen reduction over the last 30 years and we've set a goal for 2030 to continue to make a 33% reduction in those emissions. A lot of that comes from our increasing productivity of our grasslands, so we can produce more beef using fewer acres but also less time. That means fewer emissions and less water usage. When we do that, when we increase productivity in our grasslands through management, through improvement, through forage seeding and those types of things, we also increase opportunities for carbon sequestration.

It's not one size fits all. There are trade-offs. We recognize that we need to continue to work on the areas in which we see challenges, which means our emissions, but we also have the opportunity to increase our carbon sequestration and to maintain those wildlife habitats and biodiversity areas.

Another thing to point out is that we use a lot of marginal areas that shouldn't be used for crop production or can't be. We're producing a high-quality protein using this land, but also making sure it's maintained in a healthy way for wildlife and other benefits like carbon sequestration, which I think is one thing we view that should be complementary to other sectors, such as crops.

[The Chair, Liberal, Kody Blois]

Thank you very much, Ms. Brocklebank and Mr. Perron. I added a few seconds to your speaking time because of the interpretation delays.

Mr. MacGregor, you have the floor for six minutes.

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

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Everson, I'd like to continue with the conversation on biofuels. I think another thing to add is that, not only are the emissions lower when you compare biofuels to traditional diesel but it's also a “carbon-neutral” fuel. Fossil fuels are emitting carbon that was stored millions of years ago, whereas canola is using carbon that comes through the natural plant process of growing.

I think diesel in Canada is currently required to be at 2% biofuel. I have a biofuel co-op in my riding. They offer B20, B50 and B100 blends. Given the realities of climate change, why are we not being more ambitious?

[Jim Everson]

I think the federal mandate is 2%. Provinces have different mandates. In B.C., I think the level is higher, and across Canada you'll find the level higher. It's much higher in Quebec also. There are different processes there. I think it's a good question. I think the GHG reduction possibilities by using plant-based oilseeds are really very valuable.

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

For my very small farming property, my wife and I bought an older model diesel truck because we found when we were doing our research that actually the older models—we got a 2002—of diesel engines were better able to handle higher blends, like B100, than the newer models are. It had to do with the fuel injectors. They tend to get clogged.

What kinds of conversations are we having with vehicle manufacturers so that their engines can actually adapt to higher blends? Is that something the Canola Council of Canada is involved in or something we need to push a little more?

[Jim Everson]

They're very advanced. In terms of the mandates we're dealing with in Canada, the United States and Europe, all the manufacturers of farm equipment indicate that their equipment is fine managing at the levels we're at.

Canola is good for your health. It's the healthiest oil, I think, for human consumption in the marketplace, we say, but it's also good for your injectors. It's very clean. That's why it's good from a biofuels point of view.

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

If we are going to be ambitious, if we're going to make some recommendations in this committee report, what is the capacity of the industry? How much time do you need to scale up to the ambitions we need to have?

I know you had a recent victory with our overseas market in China, and there are a lot of competing priorities for the canola industry, but you've indicated that the growth signals are very strong. If we are to set really ambitious targets incorporating biofuels and trying to phase out fossil fuel use, how quickly can the canola industry in Canada respond?

[Jim Everson]

I think the regulations will create an incentive to grow the industry. Canola is in a good position because of its scalability. It's a major crop. It's a very mature crop, and farmers are used to working with it and so on.

The other products are oil left over from rendering cattle and used cooking oil and so on that's collected from restaurants, and those are by-products of other practices that take place. They're not able to scale up the way canola or soybeans are able to do as an industry. I think the demand signals that are being created, as with the Canadian fuel regulation, will do that.

There was some mention earlier on about the CAP program and the cluster program, especially the science cluster program. I think it's that part of the agenda that's really important—making sure there's no delay in continuing those innovative programs that are looking for agronomic solutions for growers, as well as regulatory approval and ensuring that we have quick regulatory approval and science-based regulations and policy. Those kinds of framework pieces, I think, will work in concert with the mandates that have been put in place for biofuels and other areas.

The Canola Council is also a delivery agent for the on-farm climate action fund, and we're focused on nitrogen use, the precise use of nitrogen.

Those programs are also incentivized by having regulations in place, whereby we ensure we have market access in global markets so that farmers are not set back by market-access issues that come up from time to time, and that we have regulatory approval that's swift and so on. That would complement the incentive programs that are being put in place.

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

Finally, I've been looking abroad to see examples around the world of countries that are really getting quite active in their agricultural fields vis-à-vis climate change. For example, France is very heavily invested in developing agroforestry and silvopasture. Australia has launched a national soil strategy because their soils are very old and very prone to erosion. I think we've all seen the examples of what climate change is doing to Australia with the wildfires and horrible floods.

Looking at those examples, do you think Canada, the federal government, should be doing more to push those kinds of strategies here? Do you have any thoughts on that?

[Jim Everson]

I think Canada is doing a great deal through the on-farm climate action program and through setting a target for emissions reductions and nitrogen use, which is really important for our industry since our industry relies very heavily on nitrogen use in canola. That's a challenging issue for us along with the other areas we talked about.

I think Canada has a very progressive sustainability and climate change program in place. I think we need to be sure that, while we're going through that approach, we're also ensuring that other countries are as proactive, because we are competing with other countries. When Canada puts in place a carbon tax, it adds costs for a grower. We have to be sure that we can be competitive in international markets while we're implementing these practices to make our agriculture greener.

[The Chair, Liberal, Kody Blois]

Thank you, Mr. Everson.

Thank you, Mr. MacGregor.

We'll go to our second round of questioning with Mr. Falk for five minutes.

Over to you.