Agriculture committee  We don't necessarily have an evaluation role. We ensure that if they export, once it gets approved from the regulatory side, they understand the importing requirements of the country they're exporting to. If we take the example of crops, over the years the grain sector has devel

Agriculture committee  Exactly. They have to understand.

Agriculture committee  In general, the role of government isn't to promote biotechnology versus organics. We do the regulatory approval, and it's the marketplace.... The reality we're facing now in the marketplace is that there's a demand for many different traits such as local, organic, or non-GMO. Th

Agriculture committee  As you would probably agree, I think every farmer and rancher wants to be number one. They want to access as many markets as possible. I think one of the biggest challenges is market access. Many of you have commented about the excellent work we have done in working closely wit

Agriculture committee  There is definitely a seeds bank. Internationally, there's work to protect different varieties of seeds. There is a seed bank that the AAFC works closely with, and internationally it's a priority to preserve the genetic heritage of many different seeds.

Agriculture committee  At this point in time, we're not aware of a huge seed shortage. As you mentioned, it is really a commercial decision between the farmer and the seed company. AAFC's role is more to protect the genetic heritage to ensure we have the traits and seed banks from a food security persp

Agriculture committee  I'm not aware of anything in terms of the animal perspective. I'm more aware of AAFC's historical preservation from a seed perspective.

Agriculture committee  I think a lot of it has to do with cost. Sometimes researchers find they can get the same output without using genetic modification or genetic engineering. The other issue is the marketplace and acceptance. Generally, when a proponent will bring something to a regulatory process,

Agriculture committee  In general, it's very expensive, so I think they're looking at some of these traits and they're looking at it from more conventional breeding. On the pork side, they're looking at better feed utilization to reduce methane emissions. They looked at it awhile ago in genetic modific

Agriculture committee  As consumers, we all decide what we prefer. They're looking for choice. It depends. They have to find the retailers who will want to put it in the marketplace and sell it, so they would have to do some market awareness studies to determine willingness and appetite from consumers

Agriculture committee  Good morning and thank you. It is my pleasure to appear before this committee today as you study the framework around genetically modified animals in Canada. I would like to provide some context on this important issue with a high-level overview of: the importance of innovation

Agriculture committee  Yes, MISB.

Agriculture committee  That's probably a question for Dr. Pernal, since he's been the lead scientist in terms of surveillance.

Agriculture committee  I would just add that bee health will always be a top-of-mind consideration for agriculture. They are critically important for many crops, such as orchard fruits, blueberries, and canola and hybrid canola seed. From an agriculture perspective, we need healthy honeybees. I'm not s

Agriculture committee  Maybe I'll turn that over to Dr. Pernal for his interpretation.