Industry committee  That's not something I can speak to. It's not a big focus of my industry.

Industry committee  Energy costs and commodity input costs have put significant upward pressure on prices. We've been hit by energy costs as well. Food processing is a fairly energy-intensive business. Whether it's actually in the plant or during distribution, the supply chain is fairly energy intensive.

Industry committee  At the professional staff level our biggest issue is attracting the best and brightest on the basis of whether this is a cutting-edge industry. When you're recruiting out of colleges and universities, that's very much top of mind. If you go further down the supply chain, my colleagues in the grocery industry will tell you they have some very significant human resource challenges from both a recruitment and a retention perspective.

Industry committee  It's a good question. Depending on how it's handled, I think it has the potential of significantly slowing down shipments both to and from the U.S., which will have negative impacts, particularly when you're dealing with perishable food. So we are very concerned that whatever regime is ultimately brought on stream, we are not going to be unduly impacted in that regard.

Industry committee  I'll try to clarify for you. My brief refers to the fact that Canada does not have a regulatory framework for bringing fortified products to market. So, for example, if you wanted to add vitamin C or you wanted to add a vitamin or a mineral to a food product, right at the moment there is really no established regulatory framework in Canada to do it.

Industry committee  I'll try to answer those in order. On Bill C-420 and its legacy, I'm not sure where it's at, but I know that our industry supported it. At Health Canada we deal with officials at various levels, from the deputy minister, to the head of the food directorate, to the head of natural health products.

Industry committee  I think our industry, like many others, has been challenged in recent years in trying to recruit the best and the brightest. It's not something that is unknown to us, and I think we'll continue to have some challenges moving forward. Of course, the ability to attract the best and the brightest to the industry, particularly in the modern world, is going to largely depend on whether or not you are seen as a cutting-edge industry on the edge of innovation or whether you're seen as a sort of waning industry.

Industry committee  What are we doing with respect to food safety or some of the image issues associated with our industry--is that your question?

Industry committee  I'm not sure I'm prepared to speak to the issue of the problems created by modern industrial agriculture. I think probably—

Industry committee  I would say that when it comes to the food processing industry we don't duck our responsibilities, and we're certainly aware of some of our image problems particularly. We're also aware of some of the responsibilities we have to help not just correct image problems but actually be part of the solution.

Industry committee  There have been several failed attempts to try to get that on the agenda. To your point, despite its economic clout, the industry is very much an orphan when it comes to a champion that coordinates all of its efforts. We don't have a home in Industry Canada. There is nobody at Industry Canada we can go to that will be a champion.

Industry committee  There's quite a bit of opportunity there. Of course, that requires investment. For a lot of our companies, one of the routes to trade is to compete for North American product mandates. I'll start by saying that you're absolutely right about pointing out that growth in this sector, from a natural perspective, is stagnant.

Industry committee  Will do. I won't go through the approvals for novel foods and food additives. The story is very much the same there. There's an example here of a Canadian company that lost over $5 million in revenue just waiting for an approval, which speaks to the issue of why Canada can't accept international standards for scientific evidence.

Industry committee  From a regulatory standpoint, the short answer is that it's Health Canada that regulates food. In terms of how many departments we deal with on a policy level, I would say that in addition to Health Canada's food directorate, we deal most closely with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

Industry committee  When Governor Dodge was asked what role the federal government had in helping the manufacturing sector, one of the things he cited was a flexible regulatory regime. He said that was going to be critical, and we couldn't agree more. Regulatory modernization has to get on the Government of Canada's economic and competitiveness agenda.