Bill C-18: Letter to the Honourable Gerry Ritz, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

Dear Minister Ritz,

I write to you on behalf of Food Secure Canada, a national membership-based network of organizations and individuals concerned with zero hunger, healthy and safe food, and sustainable food systems.

We wish to express our concerns regarding the underlying policy orientation of Bill C-18, the Agriculture Growth Act, an ambitious and complex piece of legislation that modifies several other laws.  While we applaud the measures to allow the removal of feed or fertilizers unlawfully imported into Canada, we believe that, overall, the proposed changes will further undermine the resilience of our farming sector and, ultimately, our national food sovereignty. We are particularly concerned with the proposed changes to the Plant Breeders’ Rights Act. These changes, if passed, would result in a shift in our obligations under the International Convention for the Protection of new Varieties of Plants, from UPOV ‘78 to UPOV ‘91¹, which is not obligatory under our international trade agreements. Such a shift is unnecessary and will have a range of consequences that will be felt far beyond the farming sector:

• For millennia, farmers have saved and exchanged seed, a practice that has produced the agricultural biodiversity upon which Canada and the world rely for our food. This practice is, under UPOV ‘91 and this Act, relegated to a “farmers’ privilege” clause that can be rescinded by the government of the day without due public process, and is further restricted by the practice and guidance of UPOV².
• The so-called farmers’ privilege is rendered almost meaningless by the fact that it only covers the ability to save and condition seed, not to stock it.
• Removing the ability of farmers to exchange and store seeds will further undermine biodiversity and therefore our ability to adapt to climate change. Storing seeds for more than the next season’s planting needs has also protected farms and biodiversity against crop failures.
• Instead of collecting royalties at point of sale of seed, the rights holder can, under UPOV 91, access them at multiple points from seed purchase to harvest and beyond. This will almost certainly mean higher costs for the farmer and greater profit for the rights holder. These costs will be passed along to the Canadian public through higher food prices and through the loss of farmers unable to absorb increased fees into their operations. Claims of cost neutrality for this Bill are likely specious, where the profit is generated for the seed sector and the loss borne by the farmers.

Developing policy and programming that supports Canadian farmers to make a dignified living through domestic and export markets should be a top priority of this government. A shift to UPOV ‘91 will unnecessarily further enshrine private plant breeders rights in law, and in so doing, unwittingly put at risk the dynamism and resilience of the fast growing market for local, organic, bio-diverse and sustainable agriculture. We note that the organic sector alone has tripled in size since 2006, a trend that shows no signs of abating and that warrants government supports³. It is disappointing that the Agricultural Growth Act has nothing of substance in it to support the fastest growing sector of Canadian agriculture. Indeed, there is a growing body of evidence that points to the need for a transition towards agro-ecology⁴.

Drawing on the Resetting the Table: A People’s Food Policy for Canada, Food Secure Canada urges the government to put in place national food and agricultural policy that provide:

• Seed laws that recognize and protect the contributions that farmers have made for millennia to the development and conservation of plant genetic resources;
• A commitment to not exceeding the requirements of UPOV ‘78;
• The restoration of public research and of extension services to farmers, recognizing that innovation in plant and animal breeding and in management practices has long come from practitioners themselves, namely farmers, as well as through government investment in the public sector;
• Local and regional economic development through the restoration of regional and national infrastructure and mechanisms such as processing, storage, transportation and access to markets;
• Sustainable livelihoods for farmers for generations to come.

While agriculture is primarily a business, it is also inherently linked to the current and future wellbeing of Canadian citizens. As the world celebrates the International Year of Family Farming, there is widespread recognition of the vital role that a resilient agricultural sector plays in political stability, food security and a country’s food sovereignty⁵. This resilience lies in legislation that is enabling of farmers, not further restricting their rights, embedding additional uncertainty into their business operations, and undermining their wherewithal to be economically viable within the mechanisms of the marketplace, increasingly dominated by a few large players⁶.

Respectfully,
 
Diana Bronson, Executive Director

Cc:     Malcolm Allen, Opposition Critic for Agriculture & Agri-Food
          Mark Eyking. Liberal Agriculture & Agri-Food Critic    
          André Bellavance, Member, Standing Committee of Agriculture and Agri-Food
          Elizabeth May, Leader, Green Party of Canada

1. The International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) was established by international convention in 1961. The Convention has undergone several revisions since then, the most recent being in 1991. It currently has 71 member states. Canada is also a signatory to the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.