As 2016 draws to a close, it’s time to pause and reflect on the year that’s been in Canadian agriculture.
It’s been a hectic few months on the file.
The Liberals grappled with the outcome of a U.S. presidential election. They negotiated a national climate change strategy and dealt with an outbreak of bovine tuberculosis in Western Canada. They waited for Europe to decide the fate of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement deal.
On the bovine TB file, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has said it expects on-farm testing of the 26,000 quarantined animals will be completed by early January. Alberta Agriculture is continuing to roll out emergency funding for affected ranchers, although Agriculture Canada could not say whether cheques will make it into producers hands before Christmas.
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The bovine TB outbreak isn’t the only file that will carry over into the new year.
First and foremost are the ongoing questions around the pending Donald Trump presidency. The new year will see attention focused on the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Ottawa has indicated it is open to discussions. It’s unclear what adjustments either side wants to make.
Ottawa will be expected to ensure Canadian businesses, including agriculture and agri-business, remain competitive with the United States.
Trump has promised to ease and streamline agriculture regulations for U.S. producers, which industry north of the border will be scrutinizing closely, along with his actions on the immigration file.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership is largely considered dead, a development that likely means Ottawa will be asked to secure additional market access elsewhere. For many in Canadian agriculture, no market is more critical than Japan, where bilateral trade negotiations have been stalled because of the TPP.
There are also several files worth watching closer to home.
Health Canada has unveiled its latest round of food labels after more than two years of consultation. They are meant to help consumers better understand the nutritional content of their food by grouping together things like sugar content and reducing sodium content. Ottawa has said industry will have until 2021 to make the transition.
Consultations are also underway around Ottawa’s long awaited livestock transportation rules. Transport Canada unveiled the proposed changes in December. Canada’s current suite of rules dates back to 1975. A 75-day comment period is underway with industry offered a one-year transition period.
Meanwhile, discussions around the next agriculture policy framework will continue into 2017. It’s expected most of the finer details will be discussed at the next federal-provincial-territorial meeting in July.
Spring 2017 will see Ottawa unveil its long-awaited response to the Emerson transportation report. Transport Minister Marc Garneau has already committed to reciprocal penalties and clearer service definitions.
However, two key decisions remain: the maximum revenue entitlement and the future of extended interswitching. Those decision are expected in the spring, alongside legislation.
Discussions on the recently agreed upon Pan-Canadian Framework on Climate Change are also expected in 2017. Both Saskatchewan and Manitoba have refused to sign the new agreement (Saskatchewan because it feels the time isn’t right, Manitoba because it is trying to leverage additional health-care funding). Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall has threatened legal action over the deal, which would likely need to happen before it takes effect in 2018.
Industry is also expected to keep a close eye on the Liberals’ next budget, where questions about the federal government’s current deficit levels are expected. The federal government recently announced an investment of $500 million by 2021 into rural broadband internet.
And finally, there are the pending agri-business mergers currently under scrutiny by the Competition Bureau. Of note is the proposed Bayer-Monsanto merger, which Canadian canola farmers say would see 95 percent of canola seeds and herbicides owned by one company. The Competition Bureau has not said when it expects to render its decisions.
