The federal government’s attempt to find a balance between market fear of genetically modified wheat and the industry desire for science-based product innovation is a disaster waiting to happen, says veteran Liberal MP and environmentalist Charles Caccia.
As he has in the past, the 35-year House of Commons veteran and former environment minister called on his own government last week to reject an application by Monsanto to have a GM wheat variety registered for commercialization.
Canada’s foreign wheat customers don’t want it and hundreds of millions of dollars in sales are at stake, he argued during a House of Commons debate. Canadian consumers are skeptical and there are no strong reasons for approving the variety, he added.
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Mark Eyking, parliamentary secretary to the agriculture minister, said the government’s policy is to judge GM wheat according to science-based criteria and then to work with the industry to ensure that introduction of a new product does not damage market acceptance.
“As a farmer, I am well aware of the importance of consumer confidence in our food,” said the Nova Scotia farmer and first term MP. “I am also well aware of the competitive nature of food production and the demands that our world has on feeding the hungry. We must work to strike a balance and try to accommodate all.”
Caccia, chair of the Commons environment committee in the last parliamentary session and a strong advocate of mandatory labelling for GM foods, was far from impressed.
The Monsanto application for registration should be rejected, he said.
“He (Eyking) seems to indicate that the policy his department is pursuing is one of balancing consumer confidence with the interests of stakeholders,” Caccia said.
“I think that is a recipe for disaster. The government has to give leadership and protect the consumer, therefore signal the industry as to what is acceptable and what is not.”
Eyking promised to take Caccia’s point of view to the Liberal rural caucus. However, rural caucus chair Charles Hubbard said after the Feb. 17 meeting the issue had not been raised.
Earlier in the Commons, Caccia had asked agriculture minister Bob Speller if he would order the rejection of the GM wheat application.
He received the standard government answer, offered in the past by former minister Lyle Vanclief, that registration must be science-based but talks are under way with the industry to ensure introduction of new products does not hurt sales.
Caccia said he found the minister’s response “unsatisfactory.”
The Toronto MP has been a leading House of Commons critic of genetically modified foods. He has also challenged the government’s relationship with the biotechnology industry and the government’s refusal to legislate mandatory labelling of GM foods.
As chair of the Commons environment committee, he has been a critic of the Pest Management Regulatory Agency and its record on pesticide approval, re-evaluation and control.
Caccia is the longest serving MP in the House of Commons. He was elected first in 1968 and served under Pierre Trudeau and Jean Chrétien.
Caccia did not support Paul Martin in the 2003 Liberal leadership battle, raising suggestions by some Liberals that he should be replaced by a Martin supporter.
Rather than risk being defeated in his bid to run for the 11th time as a Liberal candidate, Caccia decided not to contest the riding nomination.
