Agriculture Committee on June 20th, 2022

[Ryan Turnbull, Liberal, Whitby, ON]

Thank you very much.

I'll go to another question related to “real carbon sequestration”, to cite the words used. I found it really interesting just the potential of hemp production's sequestering more carbon. How does that compare with a comparable crop?

You mentioned flaxseed, for example. I'm not sure if that would be the most comparable one, but do you have any sort of comparator that you could give us to help us understand the potential for carbon sequestration?

Maybe I'll ask Mr. Jones.

[Keith Jones]

Certainly. The Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance has established a sustainability subcommittee that is doing detailed life-cycle analysis and assessment to provide specific data and evidence in this regard.

The reason that hemp is so attractive in its sequestration potential is because of its nature as a multi-use crop and, in particular, the utilization of fibre in materials, such as building materials and construction materials, and environmental enhancement products, such as environmental remediation mats, non-woven mats, etc. The hemp plant itself does a great job of pulling carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, but the uses of hemp tie up that carbon that's in the stalk for many years.

I'm not sure if the other two witnesses would care to add to that.

[Devin Dubois]

It's just that point. The distinction between this crop and others is not only that this is a fast-growing crop and a large plant, which generates a large quantity of biomass, but that we're retaining that biomass, like Mr. Jones said, in industrial products. Right now, if you're talking about—

[Ryan Turnbull, Liberal, Whitby, ON]

Thank you. I appreciate that. I'm going to try to squeeze one more question in.

From the testimony given so far, it seems that the industrial hemp regulations could be improved, but it seems to be the interpretation of those regulations that has gone awry.

Is that, in your opinion, a result of Health Canada not completely understanding the business of agriculture? I'm sure that happens from time to time.

[Ted Haney]

The simple answer is yes.

[Ryan Turnbull, Liberal, Whitby, ON]

Thank you.

Can you pinpoint what interpretations of regulations you want to see changed? You've already mentioned some of them, but I'll give you an opportunity in an open question to identify any others that you haven't had the opportunity to mention yet.

[Ted Haney]

We will be submitting a more extensive document following our testimony, but there are a number of things.

Number one, confirm that the only hemp processing activity requiring Cannabis Act licensing and controls is the extraction of concentrated or isolated cannabinoids from hemp chaff or hemp extraction biomass. Confirm that the only regulatory maximum concentration for cannabinoids within the definition of hemp or processed hemp is 0.3% THC in the flowering head of the leaves of the hemp plant and 10 parts per million of THC in hemp foods. There are no other maximum concentrations for the low-risk, non-intoxicating, non-addictive and non-THC cannabinoids.

Number two, we need to confirm that the processing, import, export and wholesale sale of hemp products and processed hemp products are not subject to Cannabis Act regulation or control, even if extraction technologies are used. This is an example where Health Canada hears “extraction” and thinks extraction of isolated cannabinoids from flowers, but we extract purified cellulose from stalks. We extract individual fatty acids and amino acids from seed. We extract bioactives—

[The Chair, Liberal, Kody Blois]

Mr. Haney, I am sorry, but the member's time is up.

Thank you very much, Mr. Turnbull.

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

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

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to the witnesses for being with us today.

I wish to point out that Mr. Bourassa, from Agropod, has apparently had technical issues. If we cannot invite him to the next meeting, I would ask him to submit his comments in writing to the committee.

Mr. Dubois and Mr. Haney, I am very interested in what you said about carbon capture. You discussed this with Mr. Turnbull.

How does hemp compare to other plants in terms of carbon capture? Can you give us a comparison?

[Devin Dubois]

I'll take a first try at this, and Mr. Jones or Mr. Haney can follow-up.

The distinction is that hemp will sequester when it's growing and use and pull as much or more carbon in most circumstances than pretty much any other broad-acre field crop currently grown in western Canada. It depends on geography, variety, and agronomic practices.

I'm not sure that's necessarily true when it comes to comparing soy and corn, but the true distinction is that with none of those other crops.... The bulk of the biomass just disappears. It's part of the harvesting process. That biomass is processed out the back of the combine. It goes back onto the field, and it's tilled, or just left and it decomposes.

The distinction here is that somewhere in the neighbourhood of 80% to 85% of that biomass of the hemp plant is being taken and sequestered. It's going into food products for seed, but the bulk of it goes into industrial products, like building materials, hempcrete and synthetic boards. It goes into those non-woven applications, like Mr. Jones talked about. The huge distinction, and this is no small thing, is that we are actually removing that huge volume of high-carbon biomass from the field and putting it into durable products that last decades in many cases. That's the huge distinction.

[Ted Haney]

In addition to that, the hemp root is a very significant structure, including taproots and branch roots, which also sequester carbon in soil at a higher rate than other crops that don't have such an extensive root structure. Again, harvesting for fibre results in long-term sequestration through industrial use.

[Keith Jones]

Finally, from a plant perspective itself, as a farmer, you get a biomass yield, a tonnage biomass yield, because the hemp plant can grow three to four metres tall for hemp applications in fibre, so the sheer biomass yield is sequestering far more carbon than a flax plant, wheat crop or a pea crop.

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

Thank you very much for your joint answer, which was very complete and detailed.

Mr. Haney, if I understand correctly, in the case of large crops, hemp can also be included in crop rotation. It also helps enrich the soil.

Can you tell us about that briefly?

[Ted Haney]

Absolutely, we have done work, and over the next five years we plan to do additional agronomic research to understand more detail about hemp in rotation. Because hemp is genetically very unique from other crop types in Canada, it has the ability to break pest cycles. It has the ability to break weed cycles, and because of its inherent structure, including the remaining stalk after harvest and the root structure, it does have the ability to contribute to soil health, reduce compaction, and increase soil moisture and nutrient holding capacity.

That, in turn, leads to cleaner ground water and less nutrient leaching. Yes, hemp has a very significant ability to contribute to soil health and environmental health in a mixed rotation environment.

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

Thank you very much, Mr. Haney.

I will continue with you.

As to regulations, the problem now is not with the existing regulations, but rather that they are misinterpreted. Health Canada considers hemp as cannabis. So no changes are needed to the regulations; rather it is simply a question of applying them properly. You also said that Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, and not Health Canada, should supervise hemp growing.

Is that correct?

[Ted Haney]

We do have 10 recommendations to guide interpretation within the current Cannabis Act and industrial hemp regulations, but we also have 10 additional recommendations for amendments to the Cannabis Act and industrial hemp regulations, primarily to clarify the issues that are currently misinterpreted.

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

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Kody Blois]

Thank you, Mr. Perron.

I will now give the floor to Mr. MacGregor for six minutes.

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

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to our witnesses.

I'm really glad you are before the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food, because, as you can see from the nature of the questions, you have a more sympathetic ear here. We're very used to hearing the perspective of growers and producers, and about the challenges they face.

You've already informed us a lot about the incredible environmental potential that exists, like carbon sequestration and so on. However, I want to go a bit further, because I understand hemp is quite a hardy plant. It was already said that it's very useful in breaking pest cycles, but can you tell us how it compares to other crops? What are its input requirements? Is it pretty good at trying to manage the nutrients it needs? Are there many pests in Canada that affect it?

Could you inform the committee a bit more about that?

[Ted Haney]

The plant itself is a very efficient plant. We don't have a significant load of either pest or disease pressure on hemp, at this point. We do have some, including sclerotinia, which affects many other crops. Some of the major diseases that affect other crops simply aren't present in hemp, primarily because it's genetically unique and very different.

We continue to seek additional minor-use registration of crop protection products, both biological and manufactured, to address those primarily disease pressure issues that are present. Overall, it is a plant that is very efficient. It does have high nitrogen needs, because it grows significant levels of biomass, but, that said, it utilizes it efficiently.

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

My riding is on Vancouver Island, so, historically, our main industry has been forestry. Our forestry industry has suffered over the years. Of course, we have pulp and paper plants, which have a very symbiotic relationship with our sawmills. The sawmills provide the fibre feedstock necessary for pulp and paper to thrive. However, in recent years, some of our sawmills have shut down. That supply of fibre has been endangered.

You talked about how your growers are right across Canada. I'm wondering, in the fibre market, whether you look at forestry-dependent communities and some of the new and innovative opportunities that exist for hemp growers to fill in a niche market, while existing symbiotically with traditional forestry. Can you talk about some of the opportunities that exist in communities like mine, out in British Columbia?

[Ted Haney]

Sure. In our last round of Canadian hemp strategy workshops, players from Vancouver Island indicated they would like to enter the hemp production cycle, on Crown lands currently under forestry permit, as a cover crop directly after harvest. This would contribute to soil health and provide a short-term revenue stream prior to replanting and moving back into tree production.

That would be one example of how the two can work together. Again, hemp provides a great cover-crop opportunity in all soil classes, including those in northern Vancouver Island, particularly, which are under long-term forestry....

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

That's really exciting to hear. I'd like to learn a bit more about that.

Finally, we've established that management needs to transition away from Health Canada. We've heard mention of Industry Canada, but, of course, you know our committee's main mandate is to look after Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Is there anything you've missed talking about today that you would like our committee to specifically focus on, with respect to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada?

[Devin Dubois]

There is certainly one that comes to mind for me, which is inclusion of all hemp products, but hemp by-products, and especially benign products like seed and its by-products in the commercial feed market.

This is a CFIA impediment currently. It's a CFIA regulation, so this is not a cannabis issue as much as it is those feed regulations.

The suggestion coming from us, as a processor, is that perhaps your committee and the CFIA could consider offering an immediate exemption for seed and seed by-products at a minimum, or maybe even including stock by-products—things that we know are benign and are currently in the human food market—until we do whatever is required to finish that CFIA inclusion.

This is an extreme impediment to the legitimate industry right now and to having more seed processors, which gives rise to the possibility for private processing. Without someone to take seed, there is no economic case for anyone to grow this for fibre, so we need that opportunity.

[The Chair, Liberal, Kody Blois]

Thank you, Mr. Dubois.

Thank you, Mr. MacGregor.

Colleagues, we have just two minutes for Mr. Barlow. If we could keep it tight, then we'll go two minutes, one minute and one minute. Thanks.