Thank you, Mr. Chair and honourable members. I appreciate the opportunity to be back again to talk to you about biosecurity preparedness, which is an extremely important component of animal health and the agriculture sector more broadly. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada supports the sector from the farmer to the consumer and from the farm to global markets.
Biosecurity is essential through all phases of producing, processing, and marketing farm food and agri-food-based products.
As you know, agriculture is a shared jurisdiction in Canada, and the department works closely with provincial and territorial governments to develop policies, programs and services that encompass biosecurity.
Canada's agriculture sector is very export-dependent, and continued access to international markets is critical, with nearly 70% of hog and pork products being exported and about 50% of cattle and beef products. In such an economically significant sector that feeds Canadians and consumers across the world and provides one in nine Canadian jobs, biosecurity and emergency disease preparedness are critical.
AAFC recognizes the significant impact that a large-scale animal disease outbreak would have on the sector and the need for governments and industry to work together to try to prevent them and prepare for those risks. Back in 2016, under AAFC leadership, federal, provincial and territorial governments and industry created the livestock market interruption strategy to enhance government and industry preparedness to deal with the impacts of a market interruption caused by a foreign animal disease. This strategy paved the way for future collaborative efforts related to animal health, deepening our understanding of government and industry roles and responsibilities.
The department provides leadership and plays a crucial convenor role to bring together industry and government to improve the livestock industry's position in case of a potential foreign animal disease incursion, working on issues such as African swine fever and collaborating via Animal Health Canada as a vehicle to do so.
The creation of the African swine fever executive management board, the ASF EMB, under Animal Health Canada has put Canada in a position of unprecedented preparedness for a potential foreign animal disease incident.
The executive management board allows government departments and agencies, including Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and industry to put into place the plans and supports needed to mitigate the impacts of African swine fever based on four pillars including biosecurity, preparedness planning, business continuity, and coordinated risk communications.
The tabletop exercise that will bring together several federal, provincial and territorial deputy ministers and industry leaders later this week to test current surplus hog depopulation and disposal plans is a good example to illustrate ongoing collaboration in preparedness planning efforts.
Also critical to flag is that the work on African swine fever, along with lessons learned from the recent highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak, will benefit more than just the hog sector, as it can be used to inform prevention and preparedness efforts for other diseases of concern such as foot-and-mouth disease.
Recognizing that the committee's motion for this study included “other potential threats to food security”, I would like to remind the committee that plant biosecurity issues can also arise. I am certain that members here today will remember that it was a fungus in PEI soil that caused all the challenges around potato wart in recent years. Borders were closed to prevent movement of this plant disease.
The Canadian Plant Health Council is a collaboration between Canadian governments, industry, academia and other partners to address priorities for the plant health sector, working together on preventive approaches and activities to protect forests, agriculture and other plants from pests, diseases and other risks. The council fulfills a multi-partner commitment to collaboratively implement the plant and animal health strategy for Canada.
In closing, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has demonstrated and will continue to demonstrate a strong commitment to advancing animal health and welfare, through a “one health” perspective.
The government continues to work and employ resources that contribute to animal biosecurity preparedness. These initiatives contribute to the sector's sustainability, growth and competitiveness, while enhancing resiliency and public trust.
Thank you.