The Canadian canola industry soon will have its first full-time employee in Ottawa, working mainly to remind federal politicians and bureaucrats of the regulatory environment the multibillion-dollar industry needs to prosper.
It is an environment that does not include mandatory labelling for food products and varieties affected by genetic modification.
The canola lobby also wants trade rules that provide canola and its products the same international tariff deal and access that soybean producers enjoy.
An Ottawa representative, to be in place as early as December, will be a first for the Canola Council of Canada, said president Barb Isman.
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“But that’s how you do business these days. We need to have a presence.”
The industry had a large presence in Ottawa last week when 27 representatives of growers and processors descended on the capital to lobby bureaucrats, ministers and an estimated 40 MPs on industry issues.
Isman said a key message is that a move to mandatory GM labelling would harm the industry.
And trade agreements are needed that give canola equal access as rival soybeans and to block countries from imposing higher tariffs on processed oil or meal than on raw seed.
The industry also warned against foreign non-tariff barriers that can range from restrictions on GM products to pesticide residue rules that are meant to impede trade.
One of the key industry messages to officials such as Steve Verheul, chief Canadian agriculture negotiator to the World Trade Organization, was that canola would benefit from a broad trade liberalization deal.
Much of the debate about Canada’s future at the WTO talks revolves around Canadian institutions under attack including the Canadian Wheat Board and supply management tariff protections.
“It is really important that we get people to understand we have a lot to gain from trade liberalization,” Isman said. “It is not just a defensive exercise for Canada.”
She said the lobby effort was a success because many of the Ottawa decision makers were unaware of the size and concerns of the industry, which has $2 billion in farmgate receipts and up to $6 billion in economic contribution when value-adding is considered.
She said many MPs knew of the industry but not its problems.
“Many have a vague concept of the industry as a success story, and it is, and that is great,” she said.
But issues from weather to low prices this year because of a large soybean crop in the United States and foreign trade barriers often don’t register.
It is one of the reasons for the decision to hire a full-time Ottawa representative.
“My take is that if people here don’t understand our issues or take them into consideration, it is our role to make sure they do,” she said.
“A permanent Ottawa presence will hopefully mean we are gone but not forgotten.”
