CFA in Action - TPP Agreement, Ag Debate Video...

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Careful Review Underway of TPP Agreement for Canada's Farmers

With the conclusion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations on Monday, October 5, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture is carefully reviewing the details of the deal to better understand the varied outcomes for Canadian farmers.

The CFA and its members have remained steadfast in their position regarding the importance for Canada to be an active participant in this monumental trade agreement in order to ensure Canadian farmers have the market certainty they need and deserve going into the future.

For a number of export-oriented farmers, such as beef and pork producers, the deal will result in equal access to TPP markets in particular Japan, Vietnam and Malaysia, placing Canadian producers on equal footing with their American and Australian counterparts. For others, such as sugar beet producers, the deal fell short in securing the increased market access necessary into the United States to allow sugar beet growers to move confidently ahead in the future with their domestic production.

"The Japanese market alone offers huge potential for our beef and pork producers," noted Ron Bonnett, CFA President. "With our reputation for producing high products, Canadian farmers should be able to make substantial inroads into the Pacific Rim markets."

The trade agreement will also introduce market access concessions to the Canadian dairy, poultry and egg industries, which will be required to allow an additional 2% to 3.2% of imports into the Canadian market.

"Certainly increased foreign access to our dairy, poultry and egg sectors was not the desired outcome in these negotiations, but we are encouraged to see the Canadian government has taken steps in announcing programs aimed at mitigating the negative repercussions to producers by means of compensation," explained Bonnett.

CFA encourages Canada's new Parliament following the October 19 election to carefully review the deal and its merits along with the commitments to assist those sectors negatively impacted. It is also calling on the Canadian government to pause and assess its trade agenda. With last year's Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with Europe and now the TPP agreement, Canada has free trade agreements with the two largest trading blocks in the world.

"What is needed now is for government and industry stakeholders to come together to analyze what is needed for Canadian farmers to take full advantage of these trade deals and develop an export strategy," Bonnett remarked.

CFA is working on having a representative from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada available for an upcoming CFA Board conference call in order to help address some outstanding questions as we continue to review the deal.

For additional information, please contact Errol Halkai at [email protected].

Ag Debate Video

If you were unable to catch last Wednesday's National Agriculture Leaders Debate, or if you would like to share the video with others, the debate in its entirety is now available on the CFA website here.

The text of the debate questions can also be found on this page, and a transcription of the full debate will be available soon.

As well, our media partner for the debate, Glacier Farm Media, has some exclusive coverage of the event that can be found here.

Thanks to everyone who joined the discussion on Twitter during the debate! #AgDebate was lighting up Twitter and was trending #1 in Canada last Wednesday!

Canadian Roundtable on Sustainable Beef

CFA Vice-President Humphrey Banack attended the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB) in Saskatoon on September 30 on behalf of the CFA. The meeting provided an opportunity to hear an update on progress that has taken place over the past year and to participate in a roundtable on the development of indicators to be used to assess the continuous improvement in producing sustainable beef.

With the CRSB, Canada is moving faster than any other jurisdiction in developing this beef sustainability strategy and many producers, processors, retailers and other organizations are following developments of the CRSB to inform their own experiences. Within Canada, this is increasingly being seen by retailers as a pre-competitive issue and other claims and marketing decisions will be added to Verified Beef Production Plus, not in place of. It is expected that the launch of the Verified Beef Production Plus program will take place in 2016 and that the sustainability indicators will be released for both public and member consultation.

For more information about this meeting and the discussions that took place, please contact Drew Black at [email protected].

CITT Advisory Committee Meeting

On Thursday, October 1, CFA staff attended the inaugural meeting of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal's (CITT) advisory committee to discuss the scope of the committee's mandate and determine how to structure the process moving forward. The CITT advisory committee is a new advisory structure to the CITT that has introduced industry association representatives to complement the legal advisors who previously provided counsel from the bar and bench committee. The objective of the CITT advisory committee is to assist the CITT chair and members in maintaining and enhancing the Tribunal's global reputation of excellence by making recommendations to its accessibility, transparency and fairness. Specifically, the Tribunal is seeking recommendations about the degree to which its rules and procedures are practical and reflective of the commercial realities in which Canadian producers and businesses operate.

This initial meeting outlined the need for a focus on accessibility for small and medium-sized businesses, while structuring sub-committees on operations as well as practices and procedures. The advisory committee plans to meet once a year face-to-face, with semi-regular conference calls to ensure its work continues and can inform the CITT's annual reporting functions.

For more information or to identify potential recommendations to the CITT advisory committee, please contact Errol Halkai at [email protected].

Discussion with EI Commissioner for Employers

CFA staff recently held a call with Judith Andrew, EI Commissioner for Employers to discuss recent challenges arising from Service Canada's decision to require in-person verification of Social Insurance Numbers for Seasonal Agricultural Workers. This decision is expected to result in additional administrative and logistical burden for primary producers, as they will have to bring temporary workers to nearby Service Canada offices within three days of their commencing work.

Given the tight timelines involved for producers during harvest and other peak periods, limited capacity of many Service Canada offices, and distance for more remote rural farm locations, this poses several logistical challenges, particularly for those bringing in a large number of workers in a small period and residing in remote rural areas lacking nearby Service Canada offices. Although Service Canada outreach services have been provided in some contexts, where Service Canada would come directly to the farm, this option is not available in all locations, nor does it represent an ideal long-term solution.

CFA is currently exploring potential solutions with member organizations and will be making recommendations to the relevant departments to mitigate the additional challenges resulting from this decision. For more information on this issue and potential solutions being discussed, please contact Scott Ross at [email protected].

Canadian Energy Pipeline Association External Advisory Panel

Drew Black, CFA Director of Environment and Science Policy, attended the External Advisory Panel (EAP) meeting of the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association , held in Calgary on October 2. This meeting covered developments in the Integrity First program that CEPA will require as mandatory for all its members. The Integrity First program is designed to provide mandatory and verified performance reporting for pipeline companies in the area of safety, environment and socio-economic indicators. The purpose of the EAP is to provide CEPA with critical feedback from varied perspectives, which will build the integrity and transparency of their overall program.

Please contact Drew Black at [email protected] if you would like more information.

AgriInvest Survey for Producers

Are you a producer who wants a better AgriInvest program? One that allows you to better manage risk and invest in your farm? If yes, then the Canadian Federation of Agriculture and its member organizations need your help in understanding how the program is used and where you see the most potential value in the program as a tool for risk management and/or strategic investment. Fill out this survey, it will only take three to five minutes, and help us get the information we need to design a better AgriInvest program.

Vote to See Canadian Ag Represented on 2017 Coins

2017 is going to be a big year for Canada and plans for numerous 150th anniversary celebrations are already in the works. To commemorate the occasion, the Royal Canadian Mint is gearing up to release special coins for 2017, which have been designed by talented individuals from across the country. Check out the creative designs here. Vote before October 9 to help get farmers showcased on this coin collection with the "Farmers - Our Lifeline" design! Best of all, you can vote as often as you like!

The Royal Canadian Mint will announce which design will go on each denomination in 2017.