Agriculture Committee on Sept. 18th, 2025

[The Chair, Liberal, Michael Coteau]

Just a second, I have Mr. Perron.

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

Sorry to interrupt you, Mr. Barlow.

I would still like to keep the option of adding one more witness to the list by 10 a.m. tomorrow, if that works for you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Michael Coteau]

Absolutely.

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

Okay. Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Michael Coteau]

The agreement was that there is a list, but that you have the right as a member to provide a name by 10 a.m. tomorrow. Please do that.

I'm sorry. Go ahead.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

No trouble at all.

After discussions with our colleagues and some assurances from my Liberal friends that we can have the minister a second time after the estimates in November, I think it's fair that I amend my motion to read, “That the committee invite the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food to appear as soon as possible for one hour to testify on his mandate.”

That would be the motion. I'm trusting that the minister will appear, hopefully by the end of October, but we'll work with his schedule.

[The Chair, Liberal, Michael Coteau]

Okay. In the spirit of co-operation, someone else needs to move that amendment.

[Sophie Chatel, Liberal, Pontiac—Kitigan Zibi, QC]

I so move.

[The Chair, Liberal, Michael Coteau]

Is everyone in favour of the amendment?

(Amendment agreed to)

Going back to the main motion, does anyone want to speak to it?

(Motion as amended agreed to [See Minutes of Proceedings])

That passes.

I'll open the floor again. Are there any other motions?

Marianne Dandurand, did you want to say something?

[Marianne Dandurand, Liberal, Compton—Stanstead, QC]

Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

The industry has been working for a number of years on a grocery code of conduct. The code was partially implemented in June of this year and is set to be fully implemented starting next January.

I would like the committee to receive an update on the implementation of this code of conduct, to see where the industry stands. This is a voluntary code of conduct. The industry is currently working on this code and is being supported by the government in this process.

I would like an update on this. I sent a notice of motion requesting the following:

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee undertake a short study of two meetings to receive an update on the implementation of the grocery code of conduct, its shortcomings, and to examine how it is expected to address abusive retailer practices that negatively impact producers, processors and the overall food supply chain, particularly small and medium‑sized enterprises in primary agriculture, notably regarding fees, deductions and penalties imposed by large retailers, as well as its potential effects on the affordability of food for consumers; and that the committee table its report in the House ideally in December 2025, to ensure timely consideration of the code's implementation and effectiveness.

Remember that this code will come into effect in January.

[The Chair, Liberal, Michael Coteau]

Mr. Perron, the floor is yours.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Obviously, we agree with the proposal. We also care deeply about this issue.

However, I would add a nuance to the motion. The committee should carry out this study at the appropriate time. It's a sensitive matter. These are private companies. We must keep in touch with our contacts in the field and take action at the appropriate time in order to achieve the desired result.

That's my amendment.

[The Chair, Liberal, Michael Coteau]

Is there any discussion on the amendment?

(Amendment agreed to)

Okay. We'll go back to the main motion.

Is there any discussion on the main motion?

(Motion as amended agreed to [See Minutes of Proceedings])

Are there any other items today?

Mr. Connors.

[Paul Connors, Liberal, Avalon, NL]

I'd like to table a motion on the sustainable Canadian agricultural partnership agreement, which is set to expire on March 31, 2028. This is a federal-provincial-territorial agreement that addresses such things as climate change, business risk management programs, market conditions and a whole variety of issues that the sector deals with. We've heard from stakeholders across the agricultural sector who have expressed a strong interest in conducting a thorough review to enhance the effectiveness, responsiveness and overall productivity of these programs.

I move:

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee undertake a study of at least four meetings to update previous studies of this committee on Business Risk Management (BRM) programs in Canada's agriculture sector, particularly in light of the long-term impacts of climate change, with the goal of enhancing their effectiveness, responsiveness, risk-mitigation capacity, and resilience in preparation for the next FPT agreement negotiations.

The study should also consider regional realities, the needs of small and medium-sized farms, and the federal-provincial-territorial collaboration required to ensure the delivery of effective BRM programs. In addition, the study should explore options to modernize the FPT agreement by:

incorporating more clearly defined policy outcomes (including regulatory reform, policy coherence, and timelines);

clarifying roles and responsibilities;

encouraging regional investments to support large-scale projects, such as agrotechnology parks or regional cold storage and transportation hubs.

The study should be finalized before June 2026.

[The Chair, Liberal, Michael Coteau]

Thank you, Mr. Connors.

Is there any discussion on this?

Go ahead, sir.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Thanks, Chair.

Thanks, Mr. Connors, for raising this.

I don't want to put my colleague Mr. Bonk on the spot, but having been a provincial MLA before this, he might have some comments. The issue with BRMs and this program is that it's a provincial-federal partnership, so any decisions—Mr. Connors, I know you know that as well—and any recommendations we make here have to be with the caveat that the provinces and territories have to agree—Quebec as well.

I don't think we need to approve our schedule from now until the end of June or for the entire four years of this government. We've already passed three or four studies that we're going to try to undertake. There will be emergent issues that arise. As I've mentioned, Mr. Bragdon might want us to look into the drought in Atlantic Canada.

Mr. Connors, you've tabled it, but could we vote on it in the new year? This doesn't come up until 2028. I don't have any issues with it per se, but I think we've scheduled ourselves pretty thick for right now. That one has some timeline to it, so I would say, table it and let's vote on it a bit later on. We've gotten ourselves through what we've already committed to.

[Paul Connors, Liberal, Avalon, NL]

Yes. We're good with that.

[The Chair, Liberal, Michael Coteau]

Okay. The motion has been tabled.

We'll move on to Mr. Perron on the same item.

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

The motion may be tabled. That said, Mr. Barlow raised a good point regarding areas of jurisdiction. Perhaps we missed an important detail when it comes to “clarifying the roles and responsibilities of the various levels of government.”

We could simply amend the motion to specify that this would be done in keeping with the jurisdictions and autonomy of the provinces and territories. If we added that component, the motion could be adopted without the need to specify when the committee would address it. Furthermore, I have no objection to keeping this motion for later. The committee has already adopted three motions proposing studies.

[The Chair, Liberal, Michael Coteau]

The motion is still on the floor. An amendment has been made. Does anyone want to speak to the amendment?

MP Chatel.

[Sophie Chatel, Liberal, Pontiac—Kitigan Zibi, QC]

Could we clarify the wording of the amendment, please?

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

I'll do that, Ms. Chatel.

Mr. Barlow raised a good point about the part referring to “clarifying the roles and responsibilities of the various levels of government.” Any changes in this area would require the agreement of the partner provinces. In this situation, jurisdictions would need to be respected.

This factor wasn't considered. Personally, I thought that we would address it when carrying out the study. However, Mr. Barlow raised a valid point.

It's common for committees to add the words “in accordance with areas of jurisdiction” to a motion. This generally goes smoothly and ensures that Quebec and the other provinces are also respected.

That's it.

[The Chair, Liberal, Michael Coteau]

Mr. Connors, go ahead.

[Paul Connors, Liberal, Avalon, NL]

These FPTs are all individually negotiated with the provinces. There should be no problem with adding—

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

I can't hear you very well. I'm sorry.

Can you repeat that?