Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to address this unfortunate motion. However I would like to commend the opposition for raising this issue because the agri-food sector is such a strong contributor to our economy.
A few moments ago the hon. member for Mackenzie was not allowed to speak by the opposition. The member for Mackenzie, who is very interested in agriculture, often sits in on the standing committee. While I may not always agree with his comments or theories, I do feel sad that the opposition would not allow him to speak.
The rules of the road for business are government regulations. Regulations protect Canadians, ensuring them safe, nutritious food. Regulations also play a very important role. They are a way of setting standards. High standards mean quality and that can mean Canadian agri-food products are attractive to world markets because of their quality.
However times change and regulations that were helpful in the past become an obstacle to growth today. In some cases, new technology makes regulations obsolete as scientific tests replace manual inspections. In other cases, various levels of government have added layer after layer of regulation without co-ordinating their efforts and without counting the cost to industry.
We view regulations as a tool that can help the agri-food sector produce internationally competitive products. But to be an effective tool it must be honed and constantly sharpened to keep pace with changing world markets and technology. Regulations should be a tool which encourages innovation and entrepreneurship, not one that blunts industry's integrity.
That is why the government is dedicated to reforming regulations. Regulations are dry, technical and complicated. Done wrong, they cost too much to the industry and to the taxpayers but done right, they can create jobs.
As members know, the focus of the government's election campaign last fall was economic renewal and job creation. Building on this commitment in the February budget, the finance minister announced numerous initiatives to help improve the competitiveness of the Canadian industry.
One of the steps he announced was: "We will intensify and accelerate the effort to reform and remove regulations that create confusion and costs by putting in place a task force to provide on a fast track basis a better regulatory regime, one that will not compromise compliance but rather improve the competitiveness of business".
The government has already done a considerable amount of work in recent years to ensure that government regulations fulfil a specific departmental mandate and that they enhance, not hinder, industry's ability to compete. An interdepartmental committee of assistant deputy ministers on regulatory reform is
currently working to, first, provide departments with the means to use alternatives to reduce the regulatory burden; second, provide a greater variety of enforcement tools and options; and third, improve the process of the regulatory development.
At Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the first phase of regulatory housekeeping led to the elimination and amendment of regulations through an omnibus regulatory package passed in April 1993. This work is continuing. A second package of regulatory amendments has now been prepared involving the processed poultry regulations, livestock carcass grading regulations, fertilizer regulations and egg regulations. A copy of this package has been provided to the provinces for review and for their comment. It is anticipated that it will appear in part I of the Canada Gazette this summer.
As part of this federal regulatory reform process, the government, in co-operation with consumer groups and industry stakeholders, also reviewed the current regulatory requirements concerning best before dating and packed on dating and looked at the subject of food date marking in general.
Under the food and drug regulations the labels of most perishable and semi-perishable prepackaged foods with a shelf life of 90 days or less are required to show a durable life or "best before" date in a clear, non-encoded manner. Storage instructions are required if conditions other than room temperature storage are necessary. When packaged on retail premises, perishables and semi-perishable foods are required to show packed on date instead of best before date.
The intent of these requirements introduced back in 1974 is to provide consumers with useful information regarding relative freshness and potential shelf life of food. Foods which have exceeded the best before date are still acceptable for consumption but they may not be at their peak state of freshness.
During the reform process the government found strong, general support for retaining present date marking requirements for perishables and semi-perishables having a durable life date of 90 days or less.
Consumers and industry believe these requirements to be very effective and a useful way of informing consumers as to relevant produce freshness.
We also found support for the voluntary use by manufacturers of best before dating on foods with durable life of more than 90 days.
As a result of the review the following recommendations were developed. Support the use of best before dating on products with a durable life of more 90 days on a voluntary basis. Amend the food and drug regulations to revoke durable life date exemptions for donuts and commissary items. Review date marking in respect to products with modified atmosphere packaging. Review the need for date marking on low acid foods packaged in hermetically sealed containers and on refrigerated products and consider extending the requirements relating to the statement "previously frozen" to all products which have been frozen and thawed prior to sale.
In the last phase of the implementation process Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's food production and inspection branch, in co-operation with the Department of Health, will be consulting on these recommendations with food industry stakeholders, including industry associations, consumer groups and other federal and provincial government departments.
Central to these discussions is Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's inspection and regulation mandate. The department's responsibility is to set and enforce standards to safeguard human, animal and plant health and facilitate international trade and to support the protection of the environment through sustainable agricultural practices.
In line with these departmental responsibilities, the FBI branch has been working in recent months to develop a business plan which will ensure that its resources are directed to the highest priorities, to ensure that only safe, wholesome food enters the Canadian marketplace and that our inspections program works to enhance the competitiveness of Canada's agri-food sector.
The challenge is to maintain and improve the branch's current food inspection programs while at the same time making the best use of the taxpayers' dollars.
I believe our efforts to reduce the unnecessary regulations of industry and to focus on our resources on a top priority of ensuring food safety will pay off handsomely in every province. Reforming regulations create new opportunities. It creates jobs. It is a way to ensure that the agri-food sector is profitable. It will remain a very important tool for making sure the agri-food sector remains competitive.