More work wanted on removing red tape

Canadian farmers risk falling further behind competitors if two main federal agencies don’t become more efficient and responsive to what the industry needs, said witnesses appearing before the House of Commons agriculture committee.

Industry representatives said Canada lags in many areas. Approvals and decisions take too long and rely on old processes, such as paper phytosanitary certificates.

The committee is studying red tape reduction and regulatory modernization at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Pest Management Regulatory Agency. The government implemented regulatory reform at both agencies, which fall under the health department, and they issued updates in September.

However, agricultural organizations want more progress to ensure the industry is competitive and sustainable.

Canadian Federation of Agriculture second vice-president Stephanie Levasseur said it wants the cabinet directive on regulation amended to mandate that economic and competitive interests of producers be considered.

“Decisions are made without sufficient consideration of food security in Canada, nor the price of food, and even less of the economic impacts of, or competitiveness of, Canadian agriculture, and this needs to change,” she told the committee earlier this month.

She and others said timelines have to be shorter for many regulatory processes.

“Re-evaluations should not take a decade,” she said.

“Evaluating drone usage, for example, for some crops, should not take over half a decade.”