Mr. Speaker, it should be noted that the task force my hon. colleague mentioned in his question of March 25—he well remembers, as do I—worked extremely hard to develop regulations for the voluntary labelling of genetically engineered food. I am pleased to advise him also that the committee members, finally, have reached a general consensus. Their work will now be submitted to the Canadian General Standards Board.
Although the hon. member's concerns relate, in particular, to labelling, I am going to address first the regulation of genetically engineered food, because food safety and demands for mandatory labelling are often connected, as the member well knows.
Health Canada has implemented a rigorous and detailed process to assess the safety of genetically engineered foods. Under the Food and Drugs Act, genetically engineered food must be inspected by Health Canada before being sold in Canada. The goal of this measure is to ensure the safety of such foods.
If concerns related to food safety are identified, these foods are simply not approved for sale.
Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency share responsibility for issuing policies on food labelling under the Food and Drugs Act.
Whenever Health Canada's safety assessments identify health issues that could be addressed by labelling, the department will require special labelling intended to alert consumers. Labelling for safety reasons remains the government's first priority.
The Government of Canada also recognizes that labelling of genetically modified foods has become an important issue for consumers and a means of expressing their opinions in the market place.
By adhering to the government's response to the report of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food, we are continuing to contribute to the work of the Canadian General Standards Board and the Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors.
We anticipate that the standards will provide adequate labelling guidelines to the food and manufacturing industry, in order to provide consumers with access to up to date information that will help them choose their products. It does not matter whether this system is obligatory or optional; standards are needed.
We are committed to continuing to improve the information we provide to the public on the regulation of genetically modified foods.
On the Health Canada web site, we are providing general information on biotechnology, as well as answers in the frequently asked questions section.
We have also added specific summaries on each decision respecting a genetically modified food. We are currently working on enhancing the transparency of the system, in response to recommendations from the Royal Society Expert Panel on the Future of Food Biotechnology and our action plan in response to the recommendations.
The industry has worked with us in connection wtih the publication of supplementary information relating to these proposals.
As well, since last year Health Canada has been holding information sessions for public health officers and other groups from all over Canada in order to increase their awareness and understanding of the regulations and of food safety assessment. These are often the people to whom members of the public go for such information.
In conclusion, Health Canada is determined to continue to honour its commitment to constantly improve the system. We will therefore be working, in Canada and on the international level, with specialists and other regulatory bodies, on food safety assessment, based on scientific knowledge, and will also be working on ensuring that information is made available.