Evidence of meeting #81 for Foreign Affairs and International Development in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was war.
A video is available from Parliament.
12:20 p.m.
Vice-President, Government and Industry Relations, Canadian Canola Growers Association
Yes. We're supportive of the Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement. Ukraine is a competitor globally; however, we know we have a huge diaspora of Ukrainians in western Canada. A lot of western Canadian farmers are of Ukrainian descent. We're agnostic about the benefits for our sector, but we're very supportive of Ukraine as a nation, and of modernizing our free trade agreement into something that also helps to uphold rules-based trade.
We are supportive, but agnostic as a commodity.
12:20 p.m.
Executive Director, Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance
Along similar lines, for our members, which include the canola growers, it's not that there's a deep economic interest. It's more a question of solidarity with Ukraine at a time when Canada should be showing it.
12:20 p.m.
Liberal
Pam Damoff Liberal Oakville North—Burlington, ON
Mr. Hollingworth, do you have anything on that at all?
12:20 p.m.
World Food Programme Representative and Country Director for Ukraine, United Nations World Food Programme
I think it's critical for Ukraine to maintain and have sustained market demand across the world, including in Canada, for the products that it grows.
Ukraine is suffering because the Black Sea initiative has been halted by the Russian Federation as of July. It's suffering because its supply chains were always built to export through the Black Sea to the rest of the world.
Right now, the EU's Solidarity Lanes into the European Union have an increased price for everything that departs this country. What can be shipped through the Black Sea is more competitive, and they desperately need the market because without a market—and, frankly, the market has suffered through this war and continues to suffer—there are poorer incentives for Ukrainian farmers to continue to farm. That might not be this year's problem, but it will be a problem in years to come, and it will reduce the availability of crops in the global market. As we heard earlier, if there are shocks or issues, without Ukrainian grain or Ukrainian oilseed getting into the global market, you lose a potential level of resilience that the world always needs and needs today.
12:25 p.m.
Liberal
Pam Damoff Liberal Oakville North—Burlington, ON
I know from speaking to a woman I know who owns a popcorn company called Comeback Snacks that the lack of sunflower oil caused tremendous issues for her, because you make popcorn with sunflower oil. Then she told me that farmers in the U.S. had switched from corn to sunflower to try to meet the market demand for sunflower oil. As a result, she was having trouble getting both products and was going to have to increase the price of her product.
I'm wondering if any of you can talk about the impact that this has had on inflation here in Canada with what's going on.
Mr. Carey, would you comment?
12:25 p.m.
Vice-President, Government and Industry Relations, Canadian Canola Growers Association
Yes, it could be.... I think that 2023 was likely the most expensive crop year ever planted for Canadian farmers. The cost of inputs—whether fertilizer, seed or crop protection products—has never been higher, so we're certainly seeing farmers pinched in a way that they haven't been. A recent report suggested that the largest fallout on farm was the gap between on-farm income and on-farm costs was the biggest decline. We've seen about 21%, which is the biggest since 1974.
Farmers are resilient. The resilience of Ukrainian farmers is actually incredible—they're still getting a crop off the ground—because we've heard of land mines in fields. Again, with the deterioration and Russia pulling out of the agreement, it's incredible that they've still managed to get a crop in and a crop off the ground.
We're all feeling the global pinch on commodity prices. Also, the ability for farmers to change what they're growing is difficult. Farmers in Canada, for example, typically have to have decided this month what they're growing next year, so if something catastrophic happens next year, they've already made all their input purchases.
12:25 p.m.
Liberal
12:25 p.m.
Liberal
12:25 p.m.
Bloc
Stéphane Bergeron Bloc Montarville, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to the witnesses for joining us today and helping us to reflect on the ongoing situation in Ukraine.
My first question would be for the witnesses who are here in person.
We have imposed a sanctions regime that is ultimately intended to make things more difficult for the Russians. However, some measures were put in place and proved counterproductive. I am thinking in particular of the 35% fertilizer tax, which has made Canadian products less competitive than Russian products on international markets. The Canadian government has recognized that fact. Canada is the only G7 country with a 35% fertilizer tax.
In its latest budget, the Canadian government promised to allocate $34.1 million over three years, starting in 2023‑24, to help farmers who rely most on Russian fertilizer imports. First, I would like to know your opinion on this tax, and then I would like to know whether your people have started receiving that money from the federal government.
November 6th, 2023 / 12:25 p.m.
Vice-President, Government and Industry Relations, Canadian Canola Growers Association
It's our understanding that there's a mechanism in place to return the money, but it's also our understanding that none of that money has yet been returned. It's just a commitment to make that return.
We certainly wouldn't want to speak to how the government does diplomacy with Russia, but taxing our own farmers for Russian fertilizer, much of which was already purchased before the conflict began, seems counterintuitive. It makes Ontario and Quebec agriculture production, in particular, much more expensive. Farm groups from those regions asked for that money to be returned directly. The federal government indicated that there's no mechanism to return it directly, so it will return it via programming that farmers can then apply for. It has taken about $34 million or $35 million out of the hands of Ontario and Quebec farmers, and it's done nothing. They still purchased that fertilizer, just at a loss of income.
12:25 p.m.
Executive Director, Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance
No. I have nothing to add.
12:25 p.m.
Bloc
Stéphane Bergeron Bloc Montarville, QC
Mr. Hollingworth, we know that countries like Hungary, Slovakia and even Poland are now blocking access to Russian grain to protect their farmers. It is a bit of a perfect storm, so to speak: it is no longer possible to get the grain out through the Black Sea to supply developing countries, and it is becoming much more difficult to get the grain out by land.
What measures are being considered to enable the shipping of grain to developing countries, knowing that 57% of the food exported by Ukraine is for them? What is being planned to try to remedy this situation?
12:30 p.m.
World Food Programme Representative and Country Director for Ukraine, United Nations World Food Programme
As I said earlier, markets for Ukrainian food production are critical. It's critical that we find ways to get food from Ukraine, which is produced by incredibly resilient farmers for the developing world and countries that depend upon it and need it.
The bans put in place to protect farmers in five countries next door to Ukraine are to protect against cheap produce from a war-torn nation. Those countries have taken those decisions. However, our focus is getting Ukrainian food not to those countries but to the countries in the Global South that need it the most. When the Black Sea initiative was still functioning, and through a period of not quite a year, we managed to push 725,000 tonnes of Ukrainian food to countries in the Global South that desperately needed it. Very importantly, food got to the global marketplace. It got to countries well beyond those in the neighbourhood.
Solidarity Lanes have continued to allow grain and other non-cereals, including oilseed, to be exported from this country, to the tune of almost 60 million tonnes. It is still possible to get food from this country to the rest of the world. It is still possible to use Black Sea ports through neighbouring countries like Romania. Even though we've seen a stop on domestic purchases by the neighbours, there are still other opportunities available.
12:30 p.m.
Liberal
12:30 p.m.
NDP
Heather McPherson NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB
Thank you very much.
Thank you to all the witnesses for being here today. This is important.
Mr. Hollingworth, I'm going to start with you, if I could.
We know Canada has invested in humanitarian aid for Ukraine. Part of that has been around supports for food production and food storage.
What more can Canada do, at this point, with regard to financial support in the food sector?
12:30 p.m.
World Food Programme Representative and Country Director for Ukraine, United Nations World Food Programme
Earlier, in your previous discussions with Her Excellency the ambassador, you noted the issue of mine action in this country. Canada has had a specific interest in that area of work in the past, as it does currently. As I noted, a significant region of this country, from northeast to southeast, which is the wheat-growing breadbasket of the nation, and many other areas—the vegetable basket of the nation—are desperately affected by unexploded ordnance and mines, etc. This is a country where it is stated that 174,000 square kilometres of land are affected by mines and UXO, or unexploded ordnance, of which 25,000 square kilometres are potential agricultural land.
There is a need for every actor in the world with a mine action component or speciality to come together to support rural producing households, which are, by the way, the mainstay of vegetable and fruit production in this country, with 85% of vegetables and 83% of fruits and berries grown on small allotments. Babushkas sell their wares at the end of their road. It's incredibly important for domestic food security. The massive wheat belt in this country produced in excess of five billion dollars' worth of wheat alone before the invasion in 2022.
These are the regions we need to focus on. We need to focus on non-technical survey. We need to focus on the cancellation of land following the perception of contamination. We need to help farmers get back to farming in those areas, particularly in areas that have been, as it were, liberated. If there is no reason for people to stay because they can't make a living or have a livelihood, why do people fight to have them liberated?
That's a key area for Canada to support.
12:35 p.m.
NDP
12:35 p.m.
Bloc
12:35 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ali Ehsassi
Yes. I was just advised of that, just prior to that point of order.
Mr. Hollingworth, I'm afraid we're having the same challenges we previously had, and the interpreters have advised that we can't hear from you anymore. Obviously, if questions are posed by the members, please do take the liberty of writing us and providing responses.
Again, we offer our apologies because of the connectivity challenges, which we had last time as well.