Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to begin the debate this morning on Bill S-38, this initiative of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food. It is good to see something positive like this coming forward and to see the committee having being involved with it, particularly in these times when with respect to certain commodities across our border with the United States the negotiations have not been very successful, to say the least.
Also, it is something which is very positive at a time when all sectors of our economy are watching the WTO negotiations coming to a peak. These negotiations, which will culminate in Hong Kong at the beginning of December, represent all sectors of the community but particularly the agriculture community, which is represented in this small but very important step of negotiated settlements, the way things should be done. We should not constantly be faced with appeals and counter-appeals and so on.
As I have said, we have seen in recent weeks how adversarial trade negotiations can become, but this bill shows us just what can be done when people sit down, negotiate and accept that those negotiations are a win for both parties concerned.
Bill S-38 and the Canada-European Union agreements on wines and spirits, which it brings into force, are the product of close collaboration, not adversarial debate, on a number of different levels. One is the international level, which I have just been addressing. One is the federal-provincial level. By the way, so much in agriculture involves the federal government and the provinces and is different from one region of the country to another. Another is the government to industry level, in this case with the commodity group concerned. There is the parliamentary level, the standing committee which I just mentioned, and there is the interdepartmental level.
Many different jurisdictions have worked hard to bring this legislation forward for the benefit of the entire Canadian wines and spirits sector, from the processors to the producers to the thousands of Canadians employed in the sector, and indeed to consumers here in Canada and around the world who enjoy our world class wines and spirits. I must note here that although I will be mentioning the main wine producing areas of Canada, specifically British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec, we know that wine producing is a developing industry. Prince Edward County, for example, is a northward extension of the Niagara wine belt.
In my region, the Kawartha grape growers association is working with cold-resistant vines to extend our wine industry. The nature of this bill is important for those growers because it has to do with protecting geographic designations of wines and spirits. Thus, as the member for Peterborough, I am very pleased to be dealing with this bill.
In short, Bill S-38 is an example of very effective trade policy. It shows what is indeed possible when negotiations go well and when people put aside differences for the greater mutual gain.
The expedient manner in which members of the House have advanced this legislation is an example of what I am talking about. I would like to thank the members for the support that they have already given.
I was pleased to hear that a member from southwestern Ontario said at second reading that her party will support Bill S-38 because of the benefits it will bring to rural Canada. I have already spoken to that as a member for a rural area which is not yet a traditional wine growing area but which we hope one day will be.
She is right. It is going to bring benefits to rural Canada, where we need benefits at the present time. We know what the migration of people from rural areas to the cities is doing to the economies of many of our rural areas.
Likewise, I was happy to hear support for this same bill from a member from western Canada, from British Columbia, one of our great grape growing and wine producing areas.
As hon. members may know, there is some urgency dictating a timely passage of the bill because Canada has agreed to comply to the areas outlined in the bill by June 2006, but I sense that the will of this House is to move the bill forward for the benefit of the sector, for the benefit, as this member I have quoted said, of rural Canada and of all Canadians.
To understand Bill S-38, one has to put it in the context of the broader Canada-European Union agreement. The bill we have before us would allow Canada to implement an important obligation that we made in the bilateral agreement ratified by Canada and the European Union in 2003 after more than two years of negotiations.
This bilateral agreement is widely held to be a win for both Canada and the European Union. It covers a number of issues related to trade in wines and spirit drinks, including the protection of wine and spirit geographical indications. That is the aspect I referred to before. It also includes the mutual recognition of wine standards, including ice wine. We all know that Canada is not the only producer of ice wine but it certainly has been a pioneer in the area of ice wine and we all want to be sure that whatever is marketed in the name of ice wine is truly ice wine. As well, it includes the establishment of a dispute settlement process to resolve conflicts in the trade in wines and spirits.
For the Europeans, the agreement provides greater protection in Canada for their geographical indications, for wines such as Bordeaux and Moselle.
For the Canadian wines and spirits sectors, the gains under the Canada-European Union agreement are substantial. For example, the bilateral agreement allows the wineries of British Columbia and Ontario to continue to make direct sales from their wineries. It also allows Quebec to maintain its requirement that wine sold in grocery stores in that province be bottled in Quebec. It recognizes Canadian wine-making practices and labelling rules for the Vintners Quality Alliance, or VQA, the Canadian wine appellation system. It protects Canadian wine and spirit names in the European Union, notably Canadian whisky and rye whisky, both products in which I have a great personal interest, by the way.
The sector as a whole is very supportive both of the bilateral agreement and of Bill S-38, which would bring it into force. The Canadian industry has been consulted extensively during the development of this bill and is very happy with the results. The sector believes that this initiative, with a whole lot of upside potential and with little if any downside or negative impact domestically, is of great value to it.
The Canadian wines and spirits sectors are important to Canada's economy, with over $400 million in annual wine sales and over $1 billion in spirits sales. The wine industry believes that on the strength of this agreement it will be able to increase wine exports from about $1.5 million annually to some $5 million annually over the next 10 years.
We know that our remarkable agriculture industry as a whole, of which the great producers are only one part, is in essence an exporting business. More than 55% of the farm income of farmers across Canada comes from exports. Like the grape producers, they must export to maintain their quality of life and to maintain our quality of life. At the same time, we need a strong domestic agricultural industry in all sectors for our own security, so that we get good quality, healthy, low cost food to maintain our standard of living.
As well as bolstering export market opportunities internationally, here in Canada the agreement will help foster the growth of agri-tourism throughout our wine growing regions from Atlantic Canada to British Columbia. I regret that I did not mention the Atlantic Canada region earlier in my remarks, because it too, like the other regions and including my own, is a region where wine is produced, although we tend to think of Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia as the main areas.
To speak briefly to the technical details, Bill S-38 would fulfill those remaining commitments on Canada's part that were not addressed before the bilateral agreement came into force last June. The bill would protect the names of five European spirit drinks in the Canadian market; names such as ouzo from Greece, grappa from Italy and pacharan from Spain. These names could not be protected under existing legislation such as the Trade-marks Act because that particular legislation is not designed to protect generic names. Nor does it provide state enforced protection, something that is required under this agreement.
To clarify some confusion that arose during second reading, Bill S-38 deals with only one element of the implementation of the broader bilateral agreement, the protection of foreign spirit drink names in Canada. As for wine and spirit geographical indications, such as a Bordeaux or Beaujolais, these will be protected under the Trade-marks Act, as are Canadian geographical indications such as Canadian whisky, Okanagan Valley, Niagara Peninsula and Lake Erie North Shore. As well, I hope one day Kawartha region wines will be protected.
The proposed act will also house existing trade obligations to protect other foreign spirit drink names. This includes Canada's obligations under NAFTA to protect certain Mexican and United States spirit drink names such as tequila and bourbon whisky. Members should also be aware that the bill was amended in the other place, it is of course Bill S-38, based on interventions from both Spirits Canada and International Trade Canada.
Spirits Canada has made it very clear to us that it is in full support of the bill in its current amended form.
I again thank all members for their support of this important legislation. As has been said on a number of occasions, the bill is a win for Canadian wine and spirit producers and the growers who supply them. It is a win for rural Canada and it is a win for Canadian consumers.
For all these reasons, I urge all sides of the House to continue to support timely passage, and that is of the essence, of Bill S-38 into law.