Finance Committee on June 1st, 2026

[Kent MacDonald, Liberal, Cardigan, PE]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Minister MacDonald, I'm going to be asking you some questions on Bill C-30.

We know that over the past several years, the CFIA has been modernizing its regulatory processes, all in support of Canada's agriculture and agri-food sector. About a year ago, I attended my first agriculture committee meeting, and we heard from stakeholders at that meeting about the necessity of speeding up the process of permitting and of speeding up the process of crop protection approval to keep up with technology. A lot of the discussion was around drones at that first meeting I attended. We know that drones are being used more and more throughout the world. Even our military is looking at drone use to monitor the Arctic.

The question I have for you, Minister, is this: Can you give us a report on the work that has been done to digitize export certificates and how that has been sped up, as well as how the delivery of services has been modernized to allow our exporters a faster track to markets?

[Heath MacDonald, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

The important aspect of that goes back to ensuring that we're competitive with our trading partners. I know that the health minister has been a great benefit in her role to agriculture and agri-food. I certainly appreciate it, and I know many of our stakeholders do too.

As part of budget 2025, we invested about $150 million in the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. We wanted to progress on digitization and export certificates, and we also wanted regulatory alignment with other countries, which is what we're continuing to work on. Since I've been around this place, I've heard many stories about containers being stuck at ports because of a misspelled word or something on that level. It was extremely important.

Innovation technology is going to play a significant role in agriculture going forward, and we need to make decisions quicker than we have in the past. We're catching up a little, but we still have a long way to go. Drones are certainly going to play a part in that. It's not just about spraying with drones; it's about planting seeds as well.

There are lots of opportunities there. We have to make sure that we get the trusted information and get it into farmers' hands to enable them to be competitive, especially when you see other countries that we're trading with or that we're importing food from utilizing this technology, for example.

In Canada, we need to step up, and that's what we're trying to do.

[Kent MacDonald, Liberal, Cardigan, PE]

Minister, we also know that there are amendments proposed in Bill C-30 that are going to allow for the lens to look at CFIA's actions in terms of food security, economic security and trade facilitation. Of course, all these considerations will be included in maintaining Canada's strong health and safety protocols, which have allowed us to market throughout the world.

You and I will both return to a province that exports about 90% of what we produce. You hear from producers and exporters all the time.

Can you elaborate on how these mandate changes are going to help farmers and processors in Atlantic Canada and throughout Canada?

[Heath MacDonald, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

I touched on it in my first answer to you. When we have countries like the one to the south of us, we have to align ourselves better with their regulatory bodies, like APHIS—or SENASICA in Mexico—and ensure that we're on a competitive, level playing field. These changes will certainly expedite decisions while—and it's important to continue to say this—keeping Canadians safe.

Canada is known around the world for food safety, and it is a trusted trading partner. It's time that we leveraged both of those things. Regulatory decision-making is certainly something that we need to take a firm stance on and ensure, first and foremost, that Canadians are safe, and second, that an economic lens is used for some of our decisions so that we're being competitive with our trading partners. We're in a situation that has grown rapidly on the geopolitical front, and we need to ensure that we're doing everything possible to make our farmers sustainable and prosperous.

[Kent MacDonald, Liberal, Cardigan, PE]

Minister, I have one more quick question.

[The Chair, Liberal, Karina Gould]

You have 10 seconds.

[Kent MacDonald, Liberal, Cardigan, PE]

It's World Milk Day. Would you agree that supply management is perhaps the best food sovereignty program Canada could ever instill and maintain?

Give a yes-or-no answer.

[Heath MacDonald, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Yes, Mr. Dairy Farmer.

[Voices]

Oh, oh!

[The Chair, Liberal, Karina Gould]

Thank you very much, Minister MacDonald.

Thank you, Mr. MacDonald.

Mr. Lemire, you have the floor for two and a half minutes.

[Sébastien Lemire, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I'm delighted by what I just heard.

Ms. Michel, I'll turn to another topic. I would like to know more about the mandate of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. In the past, it focused solely on public health issues. The agency's mission now also includes promoting trade and taking into account the country's economic health.

Is this your recommendation or the Minister of Finance's recommendation?

[Marjorie Michel, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Since I'm a member of the government, it's also my recommendation. It's a collaborative approach.

We're looking at the situation. You can clearly see what's happening in the world. Canada has to act much more agilely and quickly. We used to have a close trading relationship with the United States. Clearly, the situation is different now. So, we need to take a fresh look at how Canada can become self‑sufficient and develop its own markets.

[Sébastien Lemire, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

That's your narrative.

When we ask questions, we're told that these changes meet the demands of stakeholders. So this involves more people than just the cabinet.

However, I would like to know who these stakeholders are. Would you be willing to give the committee a list of the stakeholders consulted, along with their recommendations for changing the CFIA's mission?

[Marjorie Michel, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

No. We came up with this idea ourselves. Moreover, many sectors support our decision.

Personally, I would say that the fact that some sectors called for this doesn't necessarily mean that we'll proceed in this direction. For me, the right course of action is to at least review our approach in the light of the current situation.

[Sébastien Lemire, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Is there any connection with your participation in the Spring Dialogue Days event organized by CropLife Canada last spring?

CropLife Canada is basically asking for these changes to bring more, shall we say, intrusive elements into Canadian agri‑food products.

[Marjorie Michel, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

When I became Minister of Health, I became responsible not only for the CFIA, but also for the Pest Management Regulatory Agency, or PMRA. I asked my team to give me responsibilities in the agricultural sector. It was a bit of a surprise because, apparently, people didn't usually do this. I personally preferred to keep these two entities under the Department of Health. I believe that this is the best way to protect people's health.

Mr. MacDonald knows. I could have—

[The Chair, Liberal, Karina Gould]

Thank you, Minister. The time is up.

We're going to continue now with Mr. Mazier for five minutes.

Please go ahead.

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Riding Mountain, MB]

Thank you, Chair.

Minister of Health, your department spent $300 million on PrescribeIT. Under 5% of prescriptions ever flowed through that program. Was that money well spent for taxpayers, yes or no?

[Marjorie Michel, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

I said it before and I'll say it again. This project was launched in consultation with the provinces. The provinces asked to work with the federal government to set up this program. I believe that this was done with good intentions.

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Riding Mountain, MB]

It was a straightforward yes-or-no question, so is it yes or no? Was it a good use of taxpayer money?

[Marjorie Michel, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

I think that, as in many cases, these are pilot projects in a sense. They were launched, and they probably didn't produce the desired results. That's why we decided to stop funding this program.

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Riding Mountain, MB]

The former CEO of Canada Health Infoway was paid nearly $900,000 in compensation last year. Given his salary is funded by tax dollars, do you believe that was an appropriate amount, yes or no?

[Marjorie Michel, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

You should be addressing this question to the company's board of directors, not to me.

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Riding Mountain, MB]

Do you plan to provide any restrictions on compensation for executives at Canada Health Infoway in future contribution agreements?

[Marjorie Michel, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

We asked the members of the board of directors to review the governance of the institution. We're waiting for their recommendations. For the time being, there's an interim president.