The House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food met on October 6, 2025, to study the government's regulatory reform initiative in agriculture and agri-food. Witnesses included Stéphanie Levasseur from the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, Janice Tranberg and Cathy Jo Noble from the National Cattle Feeders' Association, Salah Zoghlami from Producteurs de grains du Québec, Greg Northey from Pulse Canada, Brent Collins from Seeds Canada, and Brian Innes from Soy Canada.
Stéphanie Levasseur recommended that agriculture be made a national priority by amending the cabinet directive on regulation to mandate that government regulations reflect the economic interests and competitiveness of Canadian producers, and that the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) and Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) consider food security and economic impacts in their decisions. She noted that re-evaluations take too long, such as a decade for some products and five years for drone usage, and called for better alignment with trusted international regulators to expedite decision-making.
Janice Tranberg and Cathy Jo Noble highlighted three recommendations: addressing chronic labour shortages by building a foreign worker program for agriculture after the cancellation of the agri-food pilot; providing provisional registration for products already approved in two or more trusted global jurisdictions; and modernizing the Canada-U.S. border process to eliminate duplicative veterinary inspections, which cause delays and stress on animals. They disagreed with the current interprovincial trade barrier reforms, arguing they risk lowering federal standards and impacting global market access.
Salah Zoghlami recommended that PMRA and CFIA balance risk assessments with economic and operational impacts on farms, drawing on evaluation processes from reliable countries to eliminate duplication. He urged faster adoption of the electronic phytosanitary certificate system (ePhyto) and criticized PMRA for declining new product registrations and doubling approval times, which undermines competitiveness. He also noted that PMRA should refocus resources on core registration activities rather than post-market monitoring.
Greg Northey cited three examples of regulatory inertia: outdated protein labelling rules that prevent pulse products from making protein content claims, slow adoption of ePhyto by CFIA, and delayed joint reviews with international partners at PMRA. He argued that despite decades of reform efforts, many barriers remain, and called for a shift from ambition to action, with competitiveness and innovation as core regulatory outcomes.
Brent Collins stated that the seed sector's regulatory framework under the Seeds Act is outdated and that CFIA's seed regulatory modernization proposals fall short of transformative change, potentially increasing costs and discouraging innovation. He recommended establishing a formal, authoritative advisory committee, committing to clear timelines for reforms, and ensuring changes improve seed access and reduce costs for farmers.
Brian Innes recommended that PMRA consider food security and economic impacts in decisions, citing the proposed removal of post-emergent dicamba use on soybeans as an example where the most valuable use pattern would be lost. He urged that CFIA's seed regulatory modernization not make processes slower or more expensive, and called for expedited rollout of ePhyto, noting that Canada lags behind the U.S. and that paper certificates cost the soy sector about $1 million annually for exports to Japan.
The committee also heard from members, with John Barlow questioning witnesses about PMRA decisions and the lack of consultation on red tape reduction, and Emma Harrison focusing on duplication at the border and interprovincial trade barriers. Yves Perron raised concerns about drone approvals and emergency registrations, while Jacques Gourde discussed the impact of fertilizer tariffs on grain producers. Sophie Chatel explored ideas like provisional registration based on trusted jurisdictions and external advisory committees, and Dave Epp asked about products unavailable due to slow PMRA processes. Richard Bragdon noted that Pulse Canada and Soy Canada were not consulted on recent red tape reduction reports, and Paul Connors discussed the need for action on regulatory reform.
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