A public split has developed in federal cabinet over whether foods containing genetically modified material should require a label.
Late last week, health minister Allan Rock broke ranks with government policy and endorsed mandatory labelling.
Agriculture minister Lyle Vanclief insisted the official government policy is to support voluntary labelling.
The result of the confusion was a request from four ministers, including Rock and Vanclief, that the House of Commons health committee launch a series of public hearings on the issue this fall.
Opponents of mandatory labelling of genetically modified organisms, including most farm groups and the opposition Canadian Alliance party, worried the split and decision to move the issue into the health committee is a sign the government is bowing to public opinion polls and moving toward mandatory labelling.
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“If the opponents of GMO win this war on labelling, it will be a travesty for agriculture and for people around the world,” warned Alliance agriculture critic Howard Hilstrom.
Canadian Federation of Agriculture president Bob Friesen also was alarmed by the development.
“It certainly appears there is a cabinet split involving at least one minister,” he said Oct. 5. “This is very disconcerting. It is a huge issue for agriculture. The fact that the health minister and the health committee are involved make it sound like a health and safety issue. It is not. I am very concerned.”
Meanwhile, when MPs return from their Thanksgiving recess next week, an early item of business will be a vote on a private member’s bill calling for mandatory GM labelling.
Environment committee chair and former Liberal environment minister Charles Caccia has been working to win support. He has the Bloc Québecois on side, as well as the New Democrats, a sizable minority of Liberals and perhaps a smattering of Alliance and Conservative MPs.
It is expected the bill will be defeated in the scheduled Oct. 16 vote but it could be close and pro-biotechnology interests have been lobbying hard against it.
Last week, along with CFA leaders, the lobby group Grain Farmers of Canada waded into the debate, urging MPs to oppose the bill.
The cabinet split surfaced when Rock publicly said late in the week he favors mandatory labelling and a broader public discussion through health committee hearings. Some concluded he was supporting Caccia’s bill.
On Oct. 5, Rock’s press secretary Catherine Lappe denied the health minister had committed to voting for Caccia’s bill.
“He supports mandatory labelling for the reason of consumer choice,” she said. “It is not a question of safety.”
Still, Vanclief said that government policy has not changed. “The government has been very clear in its direction … and there is no science to date that shows there is a need to go beyond voluntary labelling.”
He said he supported the health committee hearings, along with Rock, industry minister Brian Tobin and trade minister Pierre Pettigrew, because Canadians are concerned and need a forum to discuss the issue.
Critics said they are worried by moving it from the agriculture committee to health, focus will change to long-term health concerns.
