INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Dow AgroSciences Canada Inc. says federal legislation being debated by Parliament could leave Canadian farmers without access to the latest seed technologies.
Biotechnology companies say they need a predictable regulatory environment before they will invest the 10 years and $100 million US it typically takes to develop a new genetically modified crop.
Jim Wispinski, president of Dow AgroSciences Canada Inc., said Bill C-474 would create an environment of uncertainty.
“It just puts another risk equation into an already risky business,” he said.
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“It will reduce the predictability of the regulatory system and that will have a chill on innovation.”
The private member’s bill sponsored by New Democrat Alex Atamanenko would require a Canadian Food Inspection Agency assessment of potential market damage before the agency approves a new GM crop.
Atamanenko said the investment chill argument is “rubbish.”
“Any company that develops GM seeds would be stupid to develop them if there wasn’t a market for them,” he said.
The bill is designed to protect farmers by ensuring consumers want the products they will be growing.
Atamanenko said seed technology companies simply don’t want any outside agency making that determination.
“They don’t like the fact that we’re actually discussing the possibility of having some parliamentary oversight over their business.”
He believes that if the bill existed when Triffid flax was being created, it would not have been released into the environment. It could also block the commercialization of GM alfalfa and GM wheat, which he considers dangerous crops.
Wispinski said the way to deal with the Triffid incident is by getting countries to agree on a reasonable low level presence threshold for unapproved traits rather than passing legislation that handcuffs seed companies.
Bill C-474 has been approved in principle by the House of Commons and is before the Standing Committee on Agriculture.
Atamanenko has applied for an extension that would allow hearings on the bill to continue until the end of October. He hopes the committee will then recommend that the bill be moved along to the Senate.
