Finance Committee on Sept. 27th, 2010

[Pierre Gratton]

Okay.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

We'll go to Mr. Pacetti.

You have a five-minute round, please.

[Massimo Pacetti, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

From the cattlemen's association, Judith, in your brief, you're saying in the first recommendation that the SRM offset program should be continued until Canada's regulations about animal waste removal are harmonized with our competitors'. What are our competitors doing that is different from what Canada is doing?

[Judith Guichon]

It was the Americans we were referring to specifically. Their cost per animal is....

Kevin, can you respond?

[Kevin Boon, General Manager, British Columbia Cattlemen's Association]

Yes, I can handle this a little bit better for you.

We're basically at about a $37 difference between Canada and the U.S. in SRM removal. That is specifically because the U.S. has a different list of what they have to remove. The CFIA and Canadian regulations have implemented a list of things that have to be removed that is far exceeding what the OIE, which is the World Organization for Animal Health, has stipulated.

We've taken these measures to ensure that we make sure everything is out, but in the same aspect, it does put us at that $37 difference in regard to the U.S. Therefore, a lot more of our cattle are moving south of the border to be processed. So it's taking out of our economy in the way of workers as well as the fact that small businesses--

[Massimo Pacetti, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

So it costs $37 Canadian more per...?

[Kevin Boon]

Per animal--about $37 per head more for the extra we take out and remove.

[Massimo Pacetti, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

That's huge.

[Kevin Boon]

Yes, very huge. To put it into context in pounds, the U.S. removes about 1.5 kilograms of specified risk material to our 50 kilograms.

[Massimo Pacetti, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

What is being done to rectify that?

[Kevin Boon]

We're working diligently with the CFIA to see if we can shorten that list, number one, so that we're harmonized with the U.S. on the regulations and the short and long lists are the same.

As well, one of the big problems here is where to get rid of it. In British Columbia, for example, we have to haul all of our specified risk material into Alberta to have it disposed of in the proper manner, so we're looking at different ways of waste disposal as well.

[Massimo Pacetti, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

I would imagine that in some other countries the cost discrepancy would be even larger.

[Kevin Boon]

It definitely is. One of the big things is that Canada has admitted to the fact that we've had BSE, whereas other countries have not necessarily and--

[Massimo Pacetti, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

So on the world markets we have a hard time competing.

[Kevin Boon]

Definitely, and we have a harder time getting those markets open as well.

[Massimo Pacetti, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

But because we are removing more of the SRM, are we not able to have a niche or specialized market that we can go and get?

[Kevin Boon]

Not necessarily: standards are put there that we have to follow and we've just gone above and beyond.

[Massimo Pacetti, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

I want to ask another question quickly. On the traceability, are you not already receiving money for traceability?

[Kevin Boon]

We've had some programs that are in there to do it. The big problem is that in the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency, which is charged to implement it, the technology isn't there yet to do it. Most of the money has gone to trying to improve that technology and get it in place. With the flow of cattle through a lot of the businesses, one of the things with the traceability is that it can't impede business, and with the technology in place right now that doesn't happen. So we need first of all to get technology in place; that costs money, and we just haven't got enough to do it.

[Massimo Pacetti, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

Whose responsibility is that? Is that Agriculture Canada?

[Kevin Boon]

Agriculture Canada has been working on it. We've been working on it for about ten years trying to get that technology as it builds forward. The problem is that it has been mandated by 2011 and it is just impossible to get there by that point. Other countries around the world have tried to do it as well. While they sound like they are ahead of us, they're actually behind us. We actually have probably one of the best traceability systems in the world, but we need the technology to keep up.

[Massimo Pacetti, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

Just quickly, for the Surrey Board of Trade, I'm trying to reconcile the last point you made, Joanne, concerning wanting to continue the stimulus money. We are hearing from certain chambers that they would like us to stop the stimulus and reduce the debt, reduce the deficit. There's a little bit of difference in your line of thinking. Can you reconcile them both?

[Joanne Curry]

I should have been more specific. It was really around the knowledge infrastructure program, which was one of the overall stimulus packages. It is positive use. It's not that universities and colleges aren't necessarily going to be able to spend the money by March 31, but the competitive bidding process has been very favourable, so the sense is that there may be some unspent money there and that could be targeted. The point we're tying to make in our case is that there are underserved or historically underserved regions that are just building their infrastructure, which are kind of part of a second wave.

[Massimo Pacetti, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

Are you advocating an increase in stimulus spending?

[Joanne Curry]

We're advocating an extension of stimulus funding for a period of time for priority project areas, so it's not just a carte blanche continuance of the stimulus package.