A private member’s bill being considered on Parliament Hill would have Canada standardize its approval process for veterinary drugs, vaccines and pesticides with rules in other countries.
The idea has merit but Canada must tread carefully and proceed only when important questions can be satisfactorily answered.
In theory at least, aligning Canada’s approval system with those of other countries that it deems acceptable has advantages. It would give Canadian farmers access to the same veterinary drugs and pesticides as farmers in other key competing countries. Canadian farmers would no longer have a competitive disadvantage.
Read Also
Agriculture needs to prepare for government spending cuts
As government makes necessary cuts to spending, what can be reduced or restructured in the budgets for agriculture?
The cattle deworming treatment ivermectin has illustrated how this can happen. In 2007, newer, cheaper versions of generic ivermectin were available in the United States that were not available in Canada. Prices across the Canadian Prairies ranged from $180 to $280 for five litres, depending on location and time of purchase.
Around the same time, prices in North Dakota near the Manitoba border were about $120 for a generic brand to which producers in Canada did not have ready access because necessary approvals hadn’t been provided.
Another advantage of the bill might come in cost savings to the Canadian system by avoiding duplication of research and expediting approvals in Canada.
As well, some minor-use chemicals never enter the Canadian registration approval process because manufacturers don’t see enough profit potential to justify the expense of putting it forward. A standardized approach could bring more minor-use products to the Canadian marketplace.
In today’s age of global trade, it makes sense to help put Canadian farmers on equal footing with their counterparts in other nations by giving them access to the same tools.
Bringing the equivalent approval systems in line would be one way to do that.
The case for standardization for vaccine approvals and veterinary drugs seems to be more compelling. The conditions under which the research is carried out are likely more transferrable from country to country. For example, a vaccine that works well and has been proven safe for use on cattle in the United States is likely to behave similarly in Canadian cattle.
However, the situation for pesticides is more complicated. Different crops, soils, weather, farming practices and other environmental conditions make transferring research findings from one to country to another more dubious.
There are other pitfalls that must be navigated too:
- What criteria would Canada use to decide if the country of origin’s approval process meets this country’s standards?
- How would Canada audit other countries’ research systems and approval processes? Would a foreign country allow complete transparency and permit Canadian inspectors unfettered access?
- How would Canada ensure its standards are protected?
No laws must be developed that involve Canada lowering its standards to match those of another country. While some countries may live up to Canadian standards on some products, the prospects of increased access to Chinese products, for example, cannot be placed ahead of ensuring the safety and effectiveness of Canada’s approval process.
Once public trust is lost, it is a long and difficult task to rebuild it.
Aligning Canada’s veterinary drug and pesticide registration process with other countries is a concept worthy of exploration, but many questions must be answered before it is clear that the benefits outweigh the potential dangers.
Bruce Dyck, Terry Fries, Barb Glen, D’Arce McMillan and Ken Zacharias collaborate in the writing of Western Producer editorials.
