Evidence of meeting #11 for International Trade in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was workers.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Peter Fonseca Liberal Mississauga East—Cooksville, ON
Okay, Mr. Chair.
To the wheat commission, in March 2016 the Alberta Wheat Commission made it known that they plan to quantify the benefits that the TPP would provide for the Canadian value chain. Have these benefits been quantified? If so, what are the results of the analysis?
Manager, Business Development and Markets, Alberta Wheat Commission
As far as the benefits within the TPP region are concerned, those amount to about $1.5 billion in annual farm revenues. If we look at our key competitors within the TPP region, the U.S. exports about 22 million tonnes into these markets. Australia is about 18 million tonnes. I guess as far as the benefits go, if we are left out and have our key competitors—the U.S. and Australia—shipping into these markets, then Canada may be at a disadvantage. That's our key benefit.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Mark Eyking
For not being a farm boy, those are pretty good questions you're doing over there.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Mark Eyking
That's it for the Liberals.
We're going to go to the NDP now. Ms. Ramsey, for five minutes. Go ahead.
NDP
Tracey Ramsey NDP Essex, ON
I'm not a farm girl, but I come from a rural riding and I live in the county, so there are a lot of farmers, but not farmers necessarily who are farming in the sector you represent here today.
I thank you for your presentations and what you do to provide us with food in Canada and around the world.
I would like to add to what my colleague was saying and ask, do you actually have or can you share with us that analysis that you did around the Alberta Wheat Commission, the one that you mentioned? Can you provide it to the committee at a further time, not right this minute? Perhaps you can share it with us at a later time.
Manager, Business Development and Markets, Alberta Wheat Commission
Yes, that's fine.
NDP
Tracey Ramsey NDP Essex, ON
Thank you.
Also, I have a question on canola. If there were any studies were done as well, could you share that information with the committee? It would be very helpful for us to have that.
According to the Alberta Canola Producers Commission, the TPP includes commitments to prevent biotechnology-related measures from being trade barriers. It improves co-operation and transparency around the approval of new biotech traits and prevents low-level presence of approved biotech traits from being used as a barrier.
Are there specific biotechnology measures that have been adopted by the TPP countries that have impeded Alberta's canola exports, and if so, what are they?
Chair, Alberta Canola Producers Commission
On the biotechnology end of things, one of the more recent traits is a stack of traits for herbicide resistence, and the approval process is required in many different countries. Japan, Mexico, the U.S., and China, being our four core areas, currently all have to have synchronized approvals before something can be brought to market.
NDP
Tracey Ramsey NDP Essex, ON
Are those countries that you have had difficulty entering because of harmonization?
Chair, Alberta Canola Producers Commission
Yes. It delays implementation of those technologies.
As important is the MRL issue for crop protection products. Again, it comes down to synchronization in the world markets of how the approvals are in place. One country can have an approval; another one doesn't. As a commodity market in Canada, we sell a blended stream, so that boat could be going to Japan or to China. It is critical that our MRL approvals, our biotech approvals, are in place for all of our markets at the same time. Having a mechanism to get those approvals in a region, as opposed to individual countries, significantly benefits us in our ability to get those products and traits to market, but also in the costs that the farmers absorb because of the development time and paperwork that is associated with getting those approvals in every single market.
NDP
Tracey Ramsey NDP Essex, ON
I think if we're going to enter into markets, we don't want a barrier to be in place there.
So you feel that the TPP has addressed all of those, then, with the TPP countries. There would be harmonization. You'd be able to enter those markets based on those provisions.
Chair, Alberta Canola Producers Commission
I think that's certainly the goal.
Janelle, can you comment on that further?
Manager, Policy Development, Canadian Canola Growers Association, Alberta Canola Producers Commission
I think the provisions contained in the TPP agreement provide a mechanism to share information. They provide a commitment to science-based regulations. They provide more predictability and collaboration as to which data is shared back and forth. The question is whether it addresses all of our market-access issues. It probably doesn't but it definitely provides us with a platform for discussion and with a platform to proactively address some of the issues that we are talking about in terms of MRLs or LLPs in canola. Particularly beneficial is that right now there are individual discussions within every one of your exporting markets, whereby we have access to 11 or 12 members of the TPP through one platform. So it's more that platform for dialogue. There's also a working group on biotech products and STS that's going to be created, so it's really those mechanisms that are in the agreement that provide us with the opportunity to address some of the issues that we're facing at the end of the day.
NDP
Tracey Ramsey NDP Essex, ON
Clearly all of you would benefit from the TPP, and you've brought that forward today. Our concern is whether you would actually be able to access that market, and I think if there were stronger language around that within the TPP, you might feel more reassured that that would actually end up being the result. I do recognize that there are some mechanisms in place.
My next—
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Mark Eyking
You're all done.
That's the first round done. We're moving back over to the Liberals.
We have Madam Ludwig. We have one more round in this round. Okay, go ahead.
Liberal
Karen Ludwig Liberal New Brunswick Southwest, NB
Good morning and thank you, panel, for excellent discussions.
I have a number of questions surrounding capacity. How prepared are you for the increased capacity in land technology and labour if a TPP was ratified?
Chair, Alberta Canola Producers Commission
I would say we are well positioned. Land is land. They're not making any more of it and that's why it's such a great investment for all sorts of pension funds and—
Chair, Alberta Canola Producers Commission
As far as canola is concerned, we have a strategic plan of 25 million by 2025. Very little of that plan has to do with land. Most of it is about efficiency, about adopting technology so that we can get more productivity out of the same land.
I would suggest that our biggest impediment right now is our transportation system. Right now we are a land-locked industry. We count on two railways to provide us with timely, efficient service at a reasonable cost. Except for a narrow swath across western Canada, it's a monopoly situation. We need the assistance of regulators to help us create competition in that marketplace so that it generates efficiency. The cost is almost secondary in my mind relative to the inefficiencies in the market and the need to deliver products on time to our consumers.
Liberal
Karen Ludwig Liberal New Brunswick Southwest, NB
Great. Thank you.
How prepared is your sector if Canada does not ratify TPP and the United States does?