Mr. Speaker, a few of my constituents have asked me to speak on this bill, so it would only be correct to reflect their views. I have not heard officially from the Yukon Agricultural Association, but certainly there is strong support for this bill from a number of people who have written to me.
In my remarks tonight, I am going to use some excerpts and words from a letter I received from Mr. Tom Rudge, who has been working on an organic farm for a long time and feels very strongly about this. His sentiments express what many of my constituents are feeling.
Mr. Rudge begins by saying, “I have a Bachelor of Science in agriculture, specializing in animal nutrition and physiology, and I have been working on farms, including my own, for 30 years. I feel confident in speaking to you about my concerns and some of the issues regarding the bill”.
“I thought what those agriculture committee meetings would do was discuss and find ways to make Bill C-474 a reality, to define and refine it, to understand its intent and to come together in a way that is proactive, mutually beneficial and helpful to your local Canadian farm family”.
Obviously it did not proceed exactly like that in committee. The Conservatives restricted debate on it. There was no ability to make the amendments that people thought should have been made to improve the bill. That type of discourse and improvement of the bill did not occur in committee.
Mr. Rudge goes on to state, “The majority of Canadians are aware of genetic engineering, or GE; however, with the voluntary labelling legislation in place, no one currently knows if they're eating any GE food”.
“May I remind you that there has never been an epidemiological study for the health effects of GE foods, so the jury is still out on its population studies and possible health effects. We are all aware of the socio-economic and cultural effects. The government's experts, the Royal Society of Canada, were commissioned to examine genetic engineering and produced a report outlining their recommendations”.
“How many of the Royal Society of Canada's 58 recommendations have been implemented to date?”
I realize that people coming from different parts of Canada will have different views on this bill, depending on what their role in agriculture is, what types of seeds they use and want to use and what type of research they are doing. I cannot speak for farmers in the rest of the country, but in my particular area there are a number of organic farmers. They are somewhat isolated from altered seeds at the moment and they do not want that to change.
The argument I have heard against the bill is that it would reduce the science and research that is so important to reducing poverty, building the economy and making better farms, but to a large extent that type of research is not going on in my riding, so those concerns were not brought forward by the constituents who contacted me.
Mr. Rudge goes on to talk about the simplicity of the bill. He notes that its flexibility can be used in the best way possible to get it through Parliament and then to deal with the issue at hand.
He goes on to say, “I believe that writing the one-line bill gave the Government and the people the greatest latitude possible to get some work done. I know you're very aware that any bill that is overly restrictive will end up being bogged down in process and criticism from every party. I believe this bill was meant to open dialogue and protect Canadian farmers and industry from loss of their valuable market share and respect around the world. At the committee level this was to open the door for opportunity and proactive legislation....”
“The simplicity of this bill is what scared everyone”.
“The solution is to allow it to pass so that the legislation is enabling. It does not provide specifics, because that is what the regulations do. All of the mechanics are developed through the regulatory process. Legislation is what we're going to do, and regulations, policy, and programming will nuance and fine-tune the legislation. That is how it will work superbly for you”.
“If the bill was too specific, we all know it would not have been workable. It would have come across as being far too inflexible. The bill, as it is, provides a concrete direction to the government”.
He goes on to talk about more details of genetic engineering technology and its effects around the world.
He says, “I think you have heard all about the details and issues regarding GE technology and its effects around the world. Personally, if something like GE alfalfa is approved, it will eventually mean the end to my farming future here in the Yukon. Even if we do not grow it here, we will be contaminated from seed arriving in feed mixes or hay shipped up the highway. There is no labelling. The spread will be far greater than what has already happened with canola. Think about it. Companies are spreading their product unabated across the countryside, while farmers working on the edge of their limitations have no say”.
“This is your job: to provide protection to both people and the industry that lobbies you so hard. I am just one voice with a break-even balance on my farm. GE technology will not benefit my organic farm; it will destroy it. Contamination is not an option for me, and I can never allow for a loosening of standards to allow any percentage of contamination. How is it that these companies can contaminate so much crop and productivity, yet I, as a farmer, am held liable for something I had no part of when their seed ends up on my land?”
“The lobby and marketing power and budgets of the multinational agriculture behemoths make no sense in our food system, except to their own shareholders. They will destroy my livelihood”.
“You know the difference between multinational agricultural corporations and me, a small farmer in the Yukon. Please help me survive”.
I can only speak for my own area, but that was the general consensus of the feedback that I received from a number of organic farmers and others involved in farming in the Yukon. I wanted to make sure that it got on the record this evening.