Canadian farmers and farm chemical manufacturers have teamed up to call
for changes to the way the Pest Management Regulatory Agency does
business.
They want more funding for PMRA, a more aggressive attempt to
standardize rules with the United States and a more accommodating
attitude to making minor-use chemicals available to Canadian farmers.
“We feel the future of Canadian agriculture is in jeopardy,” said Anne
Fowlie, vice-president of the Canadian Horticultural Council.
Canadian fruit and vegetable growers compete with American imports and
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yet do not have access to the same range of chemicals American
competitors have, she said.
Fowlie appeared before the House of Commons agriculture committee on
Feb. 5 with Canadian Federation of Agriculture president Bob Friesen
and CropLife Canada vice-president Charles Milne.
The minor-use issue has been a constant complaint and PMRA executive
director Claire Franklin tried to deflect the criticism by arguing that
in many cases, manufacturers of small-use chemicals in the U.S. do not
apply for registration in Canada.
How can PMRA be blamed for that?
Liberal MPs raised that argument with the critics and heard it
dismissed as disingenuous.
Milne said PMRA rules make it impractical to apply for minor-use
registration. Fees take away some of the projected profit margin and
bureaucratic hoops take so much time that applicants with little hope
of large sales are discouraged from applying.
MPs from all parties said they have found the PMRA file and complaints
from farmer constituents one of the most frustrating issues in politics.
Several cited times when they have gone over the head of the agency to
ask the agriculture or health minister to intervene to help farmers get
access to a chemical.
Milne said the industry sometimes does the same.
“I don’t think the PMRA appreciates it when we go political, but
sometimes we don’t have any other choice.”
Liberal MP Murray Calder said he would like to see the auditor
general’s office hire an ombudsman to deal with disputes involving the
PMRA.
Canadian Alliance agriculture critic Howard Hilstrom opposed the idea.
“It would be used by the government to deflect responsibility away from
the government and the minister,” he said.
One of the issues the critics want the government to answer is whether
last year’s $3 million in additional funding for the agency will be
repeated this year and perhaps made a permanent part of the budget.
Milne and Friesen argued the extra funding and staff are necessary if
the agency is to reduce its registration backlog, speed up new
assessments and review the continued acceptability of chemicals already
on the market.
