Conservative MP David Bexte tables bill to save Canada’s farmers
Conservatives have introduced a bill aimed at cutting regulatory delays for farmers trying to access products already approved in other "trusted jurisdictions."
Author: Clayton DeMaine
Conservative MP David Bexte and others tabled a bill to deal with long regulatory delays for farmers accessing products already approved by reputable regulators globally and to improve the competitiveness of Canada’s agricultural industry.
Bexte introduced a bill to allow Canadian farmers to access products already approved by reputable regulators in other credible countries or regions while maintaining Canadian safety standards during the final stage of approval.
Bexte introduced Bill C-732, the “Facilitating Agricultural Regulatory Modernization Act,” in the House of Commons on Tuesday, saying the farm act would be a “simple and practical way” to make life better and more affordable for Canadian farmers.
“For years, our farmers have been buried under layers of red tape rules that don’t make sense, delays that cost of money and barriers that keep them from using the same safe, proven tools that their competitors already rely on in the United States, the EU, the UK, Australia, New Zealand,” Bexte said in the House of Commons Tuesday. “Meanwhile, our farmers are told to wait, wait for approvals, wait for reviews, wait while their costs climb and their yields fall. That’s not protecting Canadians, that’s holding them back.”
The bill would cut delays in approving feed, fertilizer, seed or pesticide if it has already been approved by two or more “trusted jurisdictions,” so that Canada isn’t starting from scratch anytime it begins the approval process for a product its competitors have already approved.
The bill would make it so that if seed, feed, fertilizer or pesticides have already been approved in at least two trusted foreign jurisdictions, the minister or registrar would have to grant a provisional approval within 90 days of a complete application, unless the product was found non-compliant with Canadian law and regulations.
The bill doesn’t strip Canada’s own regulatory standards. Canadian regulators would still need to approve the product after a full evaluation, but in the meantime, Canadian farmers would have access to the products rather than wait years for approval while superior products are being used around the world.
“It creates a trusted system where products are already approved by at least two of our closest allies, and they can be made available to Canadian farmers within 90 days, not years. 90 days,” he said. “Safety remains paramount, and the minister will retain authority to step in if there are concerns. This bill gives ranchers in Strathmore the meds they need to keep their he
rds healthy. It gives potato farmers and Pei the inputs they need to produce more food.”
For pest control products, the bill would also require safety information that includes a material safety data sheet to be provided to workplaces where the product is used or manufactured.
For veterinary drugs, the bill amends the Food and Drugs Act so the minister could, by order, treat certain Canadian legal or regulatory requirements as already met based on a decision, document, or information from a foreign regulatory authority. The bill aims to open the door for Canada to rely more directly on foreign regulators in the short term for veterinary drugs.
Bexte said the act was written by a farmer and will not introduce any new bureaucracy or additional spending.
“That means stronger yields, lower costs, more food produced right here at home, and it means stronger rural communities. It means some relief for Canadians who are tired of watching their grocery bills climb higher and higher,” he said. “Canadian farmers are the best in the world. They need the government to get out of the way so they can grow food for families.”