Evidence of meeting #8 for Agriculture and Agri-Food in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was mussell.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, McGill University, As an Individual
Yes, those technologies are spectacular. A lot of farms are using them now to do selective dry cow therapy instead of blanket dry cow therapy, which is cutting down on the amount of antibiotics used across the industry.
They are spectacular technologies, but at the same time, you can't detect your way out of disease. Some cows will still get sick at some point and still need to be treated, even though these advancements are definitely helping.
NDP
Alistair MacGregor NDP Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC
Okay. Thank you for that.
Cammy, I only have about a minute left, but the theme of resiliency is one that I continuously try to push at this committee. Do you have any closing thoughts, anything you feel you missed saying that you want our committee to really focus on in this study?
Owner-Operator, Lockwood Farms, As an Individual
Again, I would just bring it back to the impacts of climate change. While I realize there's a war and a very strong threat of war happening and it could have severe impacts close to home, overall the climate is a greater emergency. It needs to be dealt with and it needs strong government action. Regulation is really the only way forward.
I'd really encourage all members of the committee to consider other industries and how they impact farming, and also farming's own emissions and support for farmers to reduce our emissions. Absolutely, we all want to. Sometimes it's just difficult to find a road map to do that, but I believe it's there and it needs support from government.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Kody Blois
I will recognize you very briefly, Mr. Lehoux, but in just a second.
I'd like to thank our witnesses for being here today.
Mr. Mussell, I know that you weren't able to participate in the same way, but we can have you back.
Mr. Lehoux, you have only 30 seconds left. The witness may not have enough time to answer your question.
Conservative
Richard Lehoux Conservative Beauce, QC
My question was along those lines.
Are we going to invite Dr. Mussell back, or should we ask him our questions through the clerk?
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Kody Blois
No. The intention is to bring him back on the 24th. He did present his opening remarks, so we won't go through that process, but he'll be available for questions.
Mr. Mussell, I'm going to do it right now, because I might not get the chance on the 24th. Given the geopolitical dynamic.... You mentioned some of this in your testimony, and I know you won't be able to respond today. Do you have any recommendations about how we as parliamentarians can work collectively with the government to position our sector to fill those international gaps? I would welcome any thoughts that you may want to submit in writing, and of course we will see you on the 24th.
To all our witnesses, thank you for being here today, and thank you for your work in the industry.
Colleagues, I have a couple of quick reminders. March 18 is the deadline to submit witness lists to the clerk for our next study. The analysts have prepared a summary, which you will get by email, and we will also be distributing a calendar, so that you have a sense of where the committee is going.
Thank you, everyone. Enjoy your evening.