Thank you, Madam Chair and all members of the committee, for inviting me to speak here today on this important topic.
My name is David Wiens. I'm a dairy farmer from Grunthal, Manitoba. I'm here as a member of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture. I'm also the current president of Dairy Farmers of Canada. Joining me today is Scott Ross, executive director of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture.
Canadian farmers and veterinarians understand that human, animal and environmental health are all connected through the concept of “one health” and recognize our important role in reducing antimicrobial resistance.
Farmers and veterinarians are deeply committed to antimicrobial stewardship. At its heart, this means working together, alongside regulators, to use antimicrobials responsibly in animal care. Through practical, coordinated efforts, we promote and monitor proper use so that these important tools remain effective, while protecting the health and welfare of our animals.
Preventing and controlling infections are essential to keeping animals healthy and reducing antimicrobial resistance. On the farm, this involves implementing robust biosecurity measures that ensure animals remain healthy through proper nutrition and other health-enhancing practices.
The best way to reduce antimicrobial use on farms is through strong stewardship, responsible use and making sure farmers and veterinarians have access to the widest variety of veterinary health care tools possible. The tools currently available fall into several different categories based on how they are used. These include veterinary pharmaceuticals, veterinary health products, feed and water additives, vaccines, parasiticides and pesticides, which help maintain animal health, and livestock feeds, which help ensure nutritional requirements and meet and support optimal functions in animals.
Each of these categories has a different regulatory oversight and approval process. Domestic barriers that discourage manufacturers from entering the Canadian market have pushed access to these tools to a critical point. This has been made worse by the continued loss of approved options, forcing us to rely on an increasingly limited number of tools to protect animal health and well-being.
This isn't just a risk to animal and human health. It also leaves Canada at a competitive disadvantage compared with other countries that do not have the same barriers to access. Simply stated, the more varied tools we have available from each of these product categories, the less we need to rely on products that are important to human health.
Over the past two years, a coalition of 16 national organizations representing Canada's livestock farmers, veterinarians and product manufacturers have worked together to identify barriers and improve access to veterinary health care tools. The collaboration has led to a joint white paper containing consensus solutions, which was shared with government officials in 2024. We're very pleased to see that several of the recommendations within the white paper were reflected in the recent red tape review.
As one example, Health Canada has launched a consultation that will enable it to rely on decisions made by trusted foreign regulators. This will facilitate more efficient reviews of drug submissions for priority products. This is an extremely welcome first step that should help to address the acute shortage of veterinary pharmaceuticals. That said, it does not address many of the long-standing barriers identified in the white paper or help improve access to other product categories.
We look forward to continuing our collaborative work with government to implement this and other solutions identified in the white paper. I'd like to thank the officials at Health Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada for their continued support and collaboration. I would also like to thank parliamentarians from all parties for their ongoing support on this issue.
Again, on behalf of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, I want to thank members of this committee for their effort to help reduce antimicrobial resistance and for studying this important issue.
We would be happy to take any further questions.