Environment committee  Thank you, Madam Chair. We moved from managing the program in one way to a different way, because we were looking at how the management of the program was responding to what we were trying to do. We were trying to eradicate CWD from Canada. We were not having any success, and we were paying money in compensation.

Environment committee  Yes. Thank you, Madam Chair. Good afternoon. My name is Jaspinder Komal. I am the executive director of the animal health directorate at CFIA and also the chief veterinary officer. My remarks will be very brief. I appreciate your invitation to be here today and for giving me the opportunity to speak to the recommendations in the commissioner's latest report on salmon farming as they pertain to the CFIA.

Agriculture committee  Yes. A lot has changed since 1977. In 1977 animals mostly travelled by rail. Currently lots of animals travel by trucks, so that has changed. Industry has also adjusted quite a bit. Industry has done a lot of good work. That includes producers, transporters, and everybody else.

Agriculture committee  Yes. We are very well connected. CBSA delivers services on behalf of CFIA. We have an understanding with CBSA. They are very well aware of the truckloads of animals that are moving. Millions and millions of animals move back and forth, especially in western Canada. There is a mechanism to pre-inform the Canada Border Services Agency that these loads are coming and they shouldn't be waiting long in the queue at the border.

Agriculture committee  Yes, definitely. We are also working on our side to do innovation, such as the electronic exchange of information with our colleagues at the USDA. We have implemented a pilot in western Canada at four different crossings where we can just exchange electronic signatures. We are working very closely with the USDA APHIS, the animal and plant health quarantine service in the U.S., to ensure that these things are happening.

Agriculture committee  I think we have done a great amount of consultation and communication. Of course, we can do more. One of the things we are doing is—and I should have actually included it in my response before—we will delay the implementation date for one year after we have the final regulation because that will allow the industry to adjust.

Agriculture committee  There's been a lot of adjustment ever since these regulations were first published in 1977. For example, we had upwards of 400 slaughterhouses across Canada, and I think currently the number of federally registered establishments may be less than 100. That is not to say that animals cannot go to provincial plants or municipal plants, but in order for food to be traded internationally and interprovincially, those animals go to the federally registered establishments.

Agriculture committee  For this part of the regulations, we are prescribing the time, but we're saying that it's also the outcome. If during the transport time animals become distressed or sick, or if something else happens, the transporter has to assess and maybe reduce the intervals for travelling.

Agriculture committee  And maybe reduce that interval of the time for travelling these animals. Instead of travelling them for 36 hours, if the trucker thinks that animals are getting sick, that the temperature's not very good, or that it's too cold or too hot, they need to make an assessment of how far they can go.

Agriculture committee  Yes, we have heard from all stakeholders including producers. We were at a meeting a couple of weeks ago where we had Atlantic producers. They are concerned about the animals travelling farther and farther, and they are concerned about the distance. As I said previously, however, if we keep these animals travelling for long distances, there's more stress than if we make them stop and take some rest for seven or eight hours before they continue.

Agriculture committee  Yes. We also have the data within CFIA for the travel of these animals, because our inspectors collect that data. We did the analysis of the data, and we think that close to 98% of these shipments will already be compliant with these transport times.

Agriculture committee  It's a very good question. Yes, as I said, the transportation of these animals is a very stressful event for them. Animals in Canada are transported many times in millions of numbers. For young animals, we have a prescribed time, which is very tight, very short, shorter than for adult animals.

Agriculture committee  In the current regulations, the regulations that were published in 1977, there's no distinction. In the proposed regulations, we have tried to make it clear to the animal handlers or the industry what “compromised” means and what “unfit” means. We have tried to prescribe that in the regulations because it's very difficult to do an assessment of an animal if you don't have professionals.

Agriculture committee  Okay, thank you. I will try to finish it. We have clearly defined the regulations for the unfit and for compromised animals. We have defined the conditions for making them travel if they become compromised or if they're compromised before they're put on a transportation vehicle.

Agriculture committee  Thank you again for your question. The U.S. has standards for times. It has one standard, I think it is about 28 hours, but it also has provisions in its standard to move a little bit up and down so, for instance, if somebody says there are unforeseen circumstances that have come up, he or she can actually get permission to adjust the times.