Good afternoon, and thank you for the invitation to speak here today.
As the honourable chair mentioned, my name is Peter MacLeod. I am the vice-president of the chemistry division at CropLife Canada.
CropLife Canada is a trade association that represents the developers, manufacturers, and distributors of plant science technologies, including pest control products.
With me today is Dennis Prouse, CropLife's vice-president of government affairs.
CropLife Canada's primary focus is upon the agriculture sector, but our member companies also develop controls for non-agricultural uses and are keenly aware of the importance of having tools in place to control invasive species.
The potential for invasive species to devastate the Canadian economy is significant. The agriculture and forestry sectors alone were recently estimated to be worth $100 billion a year and are particularly vulnerable to the threat from invasive species. Weeds, insects, and disease are constant threats to Canadian farmers. Weeds compete with nutrients for water and space, while insects and disease damage crops and can reduce yields and quality significantly, if they are not controlled.
But invasive species, as this committee will know, are an even more difficult than average threat to control. As an industry, we encourage farmers to use integrated pest management practices, practices that can make a big difference in the control of invasive species.
Integrated pest management, for those who may not be familiar with the term, is a holistic approach to managing pests. The pesticides our member companies develop and distribute are highly sophisticated tools that play a role in IPM. In fact, today's pesticides can be applied at extremely low rates--for example, as low as a few grams per acre. Also, they are designed to target very specific pests and to break down very quickly into benign substances.
Industry routinely invests up to 11% of sales in research and development to ensure that farmers have access to a broad range of safe and effective tools. But we do more than that. As an industry, for over 20 years we have invested in a full life-cycle stewardship practice that make us leaders in environmental and responsible practices.
Each individual pesticide takes decades of research and testing and costs approximately $250 million in R and D before the first sale occurs. The resulting benefits of those investments are significant. In Canada alone, the use of pesticides and plant biotechnology increases on-farm profit by increasing both the quality and quantity of field, fruit, and vegetable crops, to the tune of $8 billion annually. This in turn strengthens many other sectors of the Canadian economy, including manufacturing, wholesale, and retail trade, and creates an additional 97,000 full-time Canadian jobs.
Ultimately, the benefits of our technologies also increase the amount of tax generated for federal, provincial, and municipal coffers. An additional $385 million in tax revenue that our industry generates in turn helps pay for such important things as health care, education, and infrastructure.
The other place where our technology makes an undeniable contribution to the lives of Canadians is at the checkout counter of local grocery stores, where, thanks to the safe and effective control of harmful pests, our technology saves Canadian families 58% on their weekly grocery bill.
That's the economic side of the equation, which in itself explains why the control of invasive species is so important. Simply put, too much is at stake not to take the threat of invasive species very seriously.
Secondly, our industry shares the public concern about the loss of natural habitat. As an industry, one of our greatest contributions to society is that we make it possible for farmers to grow more food on less land. In Canada, this has not only enabled the natural habitat to remain intact but has also meant that marginal or at-risk lands that were once upon a time farmed can be turned back into wetlands and natural wilderness.
As an industry, our hope in appearing before you today is that we can be part of the dialogue on how to manage invasive species in Canada. Our technologies are important tools in this fight, but we recognize that there are those who have questions and concerns about our technology.
Pesticides are regulated by Health Canada through the Pest Management Regulatory Agency; yet despite the federal government's stringent regulatory control, our industry's products have been subject to a variety of unjustifiable restrictions and bans from various provincial and municipal governments.
We believe the misconceptions about the safety of our products and the adequacy of PMRA's regulatory controls pose a challenge for the development of an effective strategy for managing invasive pests. This is an especially frustrating possibility when one knows that Canada's pesticide registration process is one of the most scientifically rigorous in the world.
Pesticides are not the only solution in the fight against invasive species, but they're certainly one tool in the toolbox.
In conclusion, the request of this committee is that the national threat of invasive species be addressed in a cooperative manner that draws on the expertise of our industry, of other industries, academia, and various invasive species organizations such as those that have appeared before you. Cooperation includes all three levels of government. The role that pesticides can play in helping to control invasive species must be recognized and further explored. Collaborative research and development must not only be encouraged but enabled.
In the face of clear economic and environmental threats, the regulatory system must be nimble and responsive so that new tools can come to market as quickly as can responsibly be done. Building on this, the cost of the regulatory process bears consideration, at least from our perspective. Given the already high cost of research and development—more than a quarter of a million dollars per new product—and the very low potential sales volume for a product developed specifically for an invasive species, the potential to recoup the investment must not be further diminished by additional regulatory burdens.
Finally, if we are to effectively manage the danger posed by invasive species, the Government of Canada must defend its own regulatory system. The Pest Management Regulatory Agency does excellent work. It's a science-based regulatory system, it has a sound track record of keeping Canadians safe, and its work is well respected internationally, with many other countries routinely observing and benefiting from the sound work done by the PMRA.
Canadians, however, know very little about the regulation of pesticides. They certainly know about the regulatory role of Transport Canada and its oversight of automobile safety. They know about the food safety regulators who make our food supply one of the safest in the world. But perhaps because pesticides are controversial, we do not hear the Government of Canada publicly outlining the strengths and benefits of the regulatory system. This is unfortunate. In order to give Canadians confidence in the regulation of the products that will inevitably be needed in battling invasive species, this work needs to begin in earnest.
Thank you for your time today. CropLife and its member companies look forward to being part of the solution for the invasive species problem.
I'd be happy to answer any questions.