Evidence of meeting #42 for Finance in the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was health.
A video is available from Parliament.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Karina Gould
Thank you, Mr. Turnbull.
Mr. Mazier, I would remind you to stick to Bill C-30. I think the officials who are here are from the pesticides area of Health Canada, so it's probably difficult for them to answer that question.
Conservative
Conservative
Dan Mazier Conservative Riding Mountain, MB
Okay.
Ms. Laforce, the Statutory Instruments Act does not apply to divisions 7 and 8 in Bill C-30. This means that cabinet can get around regulatory publication and parliamentary scrutiny. Is there any binding consultation requirement that exists for these divisions?
Director, Policy and Regulatory Affairs, Department of Health
Under the bill, there are two kinds of ordered powers. One is following a postmarket review. In that case, there is a notice that has to be issued at least 30 days before the order. Both the notice and the order do need to be published. There aren't consultations per se.
In the case of the emergency power, it also needs to be published, but that's in the context of these new order powers. Generally speaking, for the PMRA, we consult on all major regulatory decisions for registrations via public consultations.
Conservative
Dan Mazier Conservative Riding Mountain, MB
There is or there isn't. Is there any binding consultation requirement?
Director, Policy and Regulatory Affairs, Department of Health
For these orders, they don't include a consultation, or a notice in the case of the postmarket power; in both cases, the order needs to be published.
Conservative
Dan Mazier Conservative Riding Mountain, MB
Okay. Is there anything in Bill C-30 for drug diversion?
Director General, Department of Health
No, not that I'm aware of, but it's outside of my....
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Karina Gould
Okay, thank you very much.
Thank you, Mr. Mazier.
We'll continue now with Mr. Turnbull for five minutes.
Liberal
Ryan Turnbull Liberal Whitby, ON
Thanks, Chair.
I'll ask relevant questions on Bill C-30.
Division 8 of part 3 amends the Pest Control Products Act. There are amendments made to the purposes, which will now include national economic security, regional economic security and national food security—all of which would change how the act is interpreted and how decisions are made. It certainly appears that it adds in complexity to decision-making processes. Those economic factors are probably good things to consider, but I wondered if you could speak to how this will change decision-making.
Director General, Department of Health
Thank you for the question.
As a matter of day-to-day practice, the pesticides regulatory directorate is anchored in the safety of health and environment, and these changes do not change the mandate of our minister. However, they do include provisions, at least in section 4, to ensure that as we run through our review processes, we include consideration of economic and food security at the national and regional levels. It will change things, in that our decisions will be more transparent around how we consider economic considerations in our decision-making process.
Liberal
Ryan Turnbull Liberal Whitby, ON
Okay. That's very helpful.
For those who may be interpreting the changes that are being proposed, when a pest control product is deemed to be unacceptable for environmental risk, it can still be used to help preserve human health in cases of crisis, so there are emergency powers. Can you help us understand how limited and narrow the scope will be to use those powers? There is some concern that others have raised. I really think that we need to assure people that this isn't a broad set of powers. It's very narrow and focused on very extreme circumstances. Can you speak to that?
Director General, Department of Health
Yes, the emergency powers under the general order in council are intended to be used only in circumstances in which health is deemed acceptable. Under no scenarios would those powers be used in a situation in which health is deemed unacceptable.
At the very first, Health Canada would undergo its usual scientific assessment. Should that assessment deem that there are unacceptable risks related to the environment, and should there be a seriously detrimental infestation, only then can the government decide to use these powers, in a very limited time frame, to continue the use of a product under those very narrow circumstances.
Liberal
Ryan Turnbull Liberal Whitby, ON
What kind of a situation are we really talking about here? A “seriously detrimental infestation”—nothing comes to mind for me, but I only worked on a farm when I was younger. I'm not a farmer throughout generations or anything, so I don't know what specifically we're talking about. Can we talk about an example of a seriously detrimental infestation? Do you have an example in which this would apply?
Director General, Department of Health
I don't have a specific example that I could use. We hope that these powers are used under rare and few circumstances.
There is always a possibility of a chemical that's been on the market for a very long time and is used in practice when there are no alternatives at all, and yet the outcome of review is negative. Under some circumstances, you could see that these powers would be used in order to continue for a limited time.
I can't give you a specific example, but perhaps my colleague would like to share more.
Director, Policy and Regulatory Affairs, Department of Health
An example could be some sort of invasive species that could threaten a major crop like wheat or something. We process many “emergency registrations”, as we call them, each year. In some cases, it's possible that the result of that application could be that the environmental risks are not found to be acceptable, which could be because of a lack of data.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Karina Gould
Thank you, Mr. Hancey. That concludes the time.
Thank you, Mr. Turnbull.
I'm going to thank all of our witnesses and officials. There were a number of questions that were posed that we didn't get answers to. I'm going to ask that officials from those departments follow up and provide a timely response to the committee.
We will now suspend while we turn over for our next panel.
Thank you.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Karina Gould
Colleagues, welcome back. We will resume the meeting.
I would like to welcome our witnesses.
Joining us today we have the Honourable Heath MacDonald, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. We also have with us the Honourable Marjorie Michel, the Minister of Health.
You will each have five minutes for your opening statements.
Minister MacDonald, we will start with you.
Heath MacDonald LiberalMinister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
Thank you, Chair.
It's great to be back at the finance committee. I sat through a few of these meetings for a period of time.
I appreciate the opportunity to speak to the measures in the bill supporting Canada's world-class agriculture and food sector. However you measure it, our agriculture and food industry is a core economic driver in this country.
In my home province of Prince Edward Island and right across the country, the sector drives one in nine jobs, more than $100 billion of our exports and $150 billion of our GDP. It also puts food on tables in Canada and in almost 200 countries around the world.
Whether it's a farm in Saskatchewan or a food processor in Ontario, agriculture is first and foremost a business. That's why we need to take an economic lens to every decision we make to advance the sector, just as our farmers and food processors do in their businesses. That's exactly the approach this bill is taking.
I'll briefly give you examples of agriculture in the food context.
On regulatory reform, the key measure that has been welcomed by everyone in the sector is the commitment to change the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's mandate to consider food security and food costs. This change in mandate acknowledges the dual role of the agency as an enabler for trade and a rigorous protector of health and safety. The CFIA does an outstanding job of building Canada's brand reputation for safe, high-quality food. That's the message I hear when I sit down with our customers in key markets around the world.
However, when I'm sitting down with farmers across the country, they always identify regulatory issues as one of the key barriers to our competitiveness. They are looking to us to streamline requirements, to modernize outdated rules and to identify unnecessary administrative burden.
There's no question that we need effective regulations to keep our food supply safe and to maintain our reputation around the world for outstanding food safety and food quality. Health and safety requirements are absolutely essential for market access. At the same time, we need to make sure that our regulations don't unnecessarily hamper our farmers' abilities to compete in the global marketplace. That's the balance that these proposed amendments to Bill C-30 are providing.
In closing, I'll touch on some other measures in the update that were very welcome news for the sector.
The first is up to $7 billion in new capital for agritech innovation in the sector, which is committed by Farm Credit Canada and more than 20 investment organizations. Next is the development of a national food security strategy to strengthen domestic food production and improve access to affordable, nutritious food. There is also $5 billion to modernize Canada's trade infrastructure to help exporters, including agri-food exporters, diversify their trade to new markets around the world.
Madam Chair, the agriculture measures in this bill are needed more urgently than ever, given the unprecedented challenges our producers are facing: high operating costs for fertilizer, fuel and other inputs; tariffs and other trade barriers with some of our key trading partners; and extreme weather conditions, from droughts to flooding.
Our hard-working farmers can compete with the best the world can throw at them, but they need us, as government, to give them the tools to do that. The kinds of tools we see in this bill and in the economic update are an effective and efficient regulatory system, investments and innovation in the supply chain, and a food security strategy to help our farmers continue to feed Canada and the world.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I look forward to the discussion.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Karina Gould
Great. Thank you very much, Minister MacDonald.
Ms. Michel, you have the floor for five minutes.
Marjorie Michel LiberalMinister of Health
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Honourable members, thank you for inviting me today.
I am pleased to appear before the Standing Committee on Finance to talk about Bill C‑30 and, more broadly, about the economic aspect of health in Canada.
Health care is one of Canada's fastest-growing sectors. It has 3.5 million jobs across the country, and it was about 15% of Canada's labour force in 2024. Health care is a real investment in our economy and in Canadians, because we cannot build Canada strong without healthy Canadians.
The contribution of Health Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and other agencies goes beyond health. This is particularly so for agriculture. Farmers are now dealing with climate change, extreme weather events and infestations. One of our challenges is to reduce the administrative burden on farmers while ensuring the safety of our food chain.
By rethinking its authorization processes, Health Canada has become a preferred partner for farmers. The bill to implement certain provisions of the spring economic update includes amendments enabling the CFIA to take food and economic safety into account in its decisions. Similar amendments to the Pest Control Products Act are also suggested. These amendments aim to bring about cultural and operational change by requiring organizations to consider economic security and food security without compromising health and safety.
In addition, this review allows for the temporary use of some pesticides in extraordinary circumstances, particularly to avoid food shortages. The ultimate goal is to protect the health and food security of Canadians and preserve a safe, reliable and affordable food supply.
Madam Chair, we are at a turning point. We must make the right choices. We must build on our strengths to lead our country with confidence in its next chapter.
As we stake our claim in the global economy, our commitment to health care will be one of our greatest assets. By making wise investments, cutting red tape and focusing our efforts where the opportunities are greatest, we can make a real difference. That is exactly what we are doing. We are encouraging investment by reducing the administrative burden of doing business here.
We work with provinces and territories, as well as local and global partners, to strengthen food security and economic resilience. In addition, in partnership with the provinces and territories, we are modernizing our health care system so that it works effectively and can meet everyone's needs.
While managing health care costs is always a priority, we must view these costs as an investment that benefits all of us and our future. If we act now, we can ensure that Canada's agriculture and health sectors are a source of stability, a catalyst for productivity and a strong foundation for prosperity.
I look forward to your questions. Thank you.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Karina Gould
Thank you, Minister.
Thank you, Minister MacDonald.
We are going to begin with Mr. Mazier for six minutes.
Conservative
Dan Mazier Conservative Riding Mountain, MB
Thank you, Chair.
Welcome, ministers. My questions will be for the health minister.
We haven't seen you at the health committee for months, so I've had to come to the finance committee to ask you questions. I am wondering if you're available to testify on your government's failed $300-million PrescribeIT program before the summer. Are you available to come to the health committee before the end of this—