The House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food met to study regulatory reform and red tape reduction in the sector. Witnesses included Lawrence Hanson, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food; Robert Ianiro, Vice-President of Policy and Programs at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA); Darren Anderson, CEO of Vive Crop Protection; Daniel McCann, CEO of Precision AI Inc.; and Tyler McCann, Managing Director of the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute (CAPI).
Lawrence Hanson, responding to members' questions, noted that discussions on variety use agreements (VUAs) are ongoing with Seeds Canada and producers to find a system that balances private investment with maximum value for farmers. He stated that harmonizing pest risk assessments with the U.S. would require legislative changes beyond simple alignment, and that analysis of electric vehicle mandates on agriculture would have been done by Environment and Climate Change Canada, not his department.
Robert Ianiro addressed concerns about specified risk material (SRM) regulations, stating that Canada retains negligible risk status for BSE and that CFIA is working on updating multiple regulations, but must avoid jeopardizing market access, noting that U.S. counterparts are currently unavailable due to labour issues. He also confirmed that imported food products must meet the same pesticide and labelling standards as domestic products, and that CFIA would investigate any reported contraventions.
Darren Anderson testified that Vive Crop Protection, a Canadian company, had its first product approved by the PMRA in 2023, seven years after U.S. approval, and that only one of its 14 products is registered in Canada. He recommended that the PMRA revise premarket consultations for transparency, leverage regulatory reviews from trusted jurisdictions to grant provisional registrations, and aim to become the world's most efficient crop protection regulator to drive cultural change and attract investment.
Daniel McCann stated that Precision AI's drone technology can reduce pesticide use by 83% and fertilizer by 60% while improving yields, but cannot be sold in Canada due to outdated regulations. He recommended creating a regulatory sandbox for limited-scale field testing, establishing predictable approval timelines, accepting research data from other regions, and consolidating approvals across agencies like Transport Canada and the PMRA through a "regulatory concierge" to accelerate innovation.
Tyler McCann highlighted that CAPI's 2024 risk survey found the policy and regulatory environment was the top risk facing the sector, with 50% of respondents citing unnecessary regulatory burden. He recommended appointing a new CFIA ministerial advisory body to provide reform recommendations within 30 days, reforming the agile regulations table with independence and accountability tools, appointing a regulatory ombudsman, establishing a regulatory performance framework, and having the committee hold annual hearings to track progress. He disagreed with the notion that current officials can effectively modernize the system they created.
The committee agreed to hold two more meetings with witnesses on regulatory red tape before the November break, with a draft report to be prepared by researchers for the week of November 17. Members invited any witnesses unable to testify to submit their recommendations in writing.
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