MILDMAY, Ont. – Canada and the United States will work out a deal to accept each other’s farm chemical registrations but it will have to wait until next year, agriculture minister Ralph Goodale said recently.
“That is the goal,” he told farm audiences throughout rural southwestern Ontario. “If their science meets our standards, there is no need for us to re-invent the wheel.”
At a gathering of Ontario Federation of Agriculture leaders here Aug. 21, he said some Americans want access to Canadians chemicals the way Canadian farmers want access to chemicals used by their U.S. competitors.
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“I think there is an interest on both sides of the border to resolve this,” said Goodale. “But in an election year down there, it is hard to have a rational discussion that does not get diverted. We will have to wait.”
During his visit to seven rural Ontario ridings last week, the federal minister heard repeated complaints from farmers about the slow pace of efforts to make it easier for Canadians to have access to American chemicals they need.
Goodale repeatedly told them of a conversation he had with the North Dakota governor not long ago.
“He was complaining that our farmers have access to chemicals his do not,” said the minister. “This cuts both ways. I think we can get a deal.”
