Challenges ahead | Former deputy agriculture minister says further innovation is required for Canadian Food industry to prosper
The chair of a federally supported agriculture policy council and former federal deputy agriculture minister said governments are failing to provide the political leadership needed to transform the Canadian food industry.
Gaetan Lussier, chair of the Canadian AgriFood Policy Institute, told a Conference Board of Canada national food policy conference Feb. 8 that the Canadian food industry must innovate if it is to meet future challenges of producing more food that is safe and nutritious for a growing population.
“We have the capacity in Canada to be the Garden of Eden,” he said.
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But the country lacks a coherent food policy that creates the regulations and conditions to help the industry grow, said Lussier, deputy agriculture minister in Ottawa from 1977 to 1982.
“What is missing is political leadership,” he said.
Several years ago, CAPI suggested that Ottawa create a cabinet committee on food issues that would include ministers whose policies affect the sector. Lussier said the government rejected the advice.
“What is missing is a common table for all these people to compare what they are doing with others,” he said. “The silo mentality is still there and I may have been part of it in the past when I was in Ottawa. We need to have a totally different approach. We suggested a cabinet committee on food. I was told no.”
Lussier said Canada has been shielded from pressure to change by high commodity prices in recent years.
However, the world market and industry is changing “and Canada is not there.”
He said there is endless talk about regulatory and labelling changes that would help the industry, including the need for farmer profitability.
“We talk a lot but we are not embarking on a framework that will become useful and helpful for change,” he said.
Lussier also bemoaned the lack of federal emphasis on agricultural research. During his time in Ottawa with then-agriculture minister Eugene Whelan, building up Agriculture Canada’s research capacity was a priority.
That is no longer the case, say industry lobbyists. Last week during a trade trip to China, Grain Growers of Canada representatives used time with agriculture minister Gerry Ritz to plead for more funding for basic research projects.
“It really is our main priority,” said GGC executive director Richard Phillips. “The government needs to step up with more support for basic research. We are suggesting ways they can find more money.”
Lussier said the lack of current research support is troubling.
“I think it is a worrisome trend,” he said. “We are sliding further and further away from being supportive of change because science needs to be present before change takes place. I think presently we are going in the wrong way.”
