12-Month Lobbying Summary - Consultant

Subject Matters

• Agriculture
• Broadcasting
• Climate
• Consumer Issues
• Employment and Training
• Energy
• Environment
• Financial Institutions
• Fisheries
• Health
• Industry
• Intellectual Property
• Internal Trade
• International Trade
• Labour
• Regional Development
• Science and Technology
• Small Business
• Taxation and Finance
• Telecommunications
• Transportation

Subject Matter Details

Grant, Contribution or Other Financial Benefit

• • AGRICULTURE & AGRI-FOOD CANADA – Growing Forward 2, obtaining contributions for the Federation through funding programs (AgriRisk); ensuring that Canadian farmers are adequately protected from production and market risk.

Legislative Proposal, Bill or Resolution

• • AGRICULTURE & AGRI-FOOD CANADA - In respect to review of Canada Transportation Act, to ensure that crop farmer and shipper needs are addressed in light of chronic grain rail transportation problems in Western Canada
• • AGRICULTURE & AGRI-FOOD CANADA and GLOBAL AFFAIRS CANDA - In respect to Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations to ensure Canada achieves beneficial results for Canadian farmers, including real and meaningful market access for our export –reliant commodities while protecting Canada’s supply managed-sector
• • AGRICULTURE & AGRI-FOOD CANADA – Agricultural Marketing Products Act, in respect to increasing maximum advance limits, reducing red tape, increasing flexibility regarding cash repayments, and promoting increased access to the program for all producers.
• • AGRICULTURE & AGRI-FOOD CANADA – in respect to agricultural safety net legislation, to ensure that Canadian farmers are adequately protected from unforeseen, uncontrollable falls in income due to weather, insects, disease, trade action, market failure or international trade distorting subsidies.
• • CANADIAN FOOD INSPECTION AGENCY – Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act, in respect to food labelling, statements and claims.
• • CANADIAN FOOD INSPECTION AGENCY – Plant Breeders’ Rights Act, in respect to ensuring a robust farmers’ privilege and that producers have meaningful input into subsequent regulatory developments
• • CANADIAN FOOD INSPECTION AGENCY – Safe Food for Canadians Act, in respect to regulatory modernization within Canada’s food inspection regime and how changes may affect agricultural producers.
• • CANADIAN GRAIN COMMISSION – Canada Grains Act, in respect to ensuring payment security mechanisms provide adequate protection to producers facing instances of non-payment and/or late payment
• • EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT CANADA – Employment Insurance Act, in respect to employment insurance for seasonal farm workers.
• • Environment and Climate Change Canada – Species at Risk Act or habitat conservation bill or resolution that affects the management of farms, farm revenues or change costs to Canadian farmers.
• • FINANCE CANADA – Federal Budget, in respect to increased public research funding for climate change adaptation & crop varietal development, promoting investment into future risk mitigation, and facilitating intergenerational farm transfers.
• • FINANCE CANADA – Income Tax Act, in respect to facilitating intergenerational farm transfers through holding companies, greater flexibility around sibling ownership, and the interpretation of restricted farm losses.
• • FINANCE CANADA – Income Tax Act, in respect to income, business, and Goods and Services taxation to ensure that the Canadian agricultural industry and Canadian farmers exist in a competitive market and can remain competitive relative to their international competitors.
• • HEALTH CANADA – Pest Control Products Act, in respect to reducing environmental and health risks of pest control products while improving the opportunities and environmental and economic sustainability for agricultural producers.
• • TRANSPORT CANADA and CANADIAN TRANSPORTATION AGENCY - - In respect to review of Canada Transportation Act, to ensure that crop farmer and shipper needs are addressed in light of chronic grain rail transportation problems in Western Canada

Policies or Program

• • AGRICULTURE & AGRI-FOOD CANADA – Growing Forward 2, ensuring that Canadian farmers are adequately protected from unforeseen, uncontrollable falls in income due to weather, insects, disease, trade action, market failure or international trade distorting subsidies; and ensuring all cost-shared programming supports continued success in the Canadian agriculture industry.
• • AGRICULTURE AND AGRI-FOOD CANADA – Pesticide Risk Reduction Program – to reduce the risk of pesticides and promote alternative approaches to pest management.
• • CANADA REVENUE AGENCY – Farm Income Reporting, ensuring that financial reporting for farm businesses does not undermine competitiveness.
• • EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT CANADA – Labour Market Agreements and Labour Market Development Agreements, in respect to improving the ability of the Canadian agricultural industry to continually improve the skills of farmers, and have access to skilled, competitive labour.
• • EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT CANADA – Temporary Foreign Worker Program, in respect to ensuring adequate access to labour for Canadian farms, encouraging avenues to permanent residency, and better integration of under-represented groups.
• • Environment and Climate Change Canada – Canadian Wildlife Service, in respect to allowing controlled hunts of animal and bird pests which impact agricultural operations.
• • Environment and Climate Change Canada – Invasive species programs and policies that aim to mitigate and reverse the threat posed to working landscapes from invasive species.
• • HEALTH CANADA - Grower Request Own Use Program, in respect of improving the competitiveness of Canadian agriculture by working to reduce the high cost of some crop protection products in Canada vis a vis other countries.
• • IMMIGRATION, REFUGEES AND CITIZENSHIP CANADA – Express entry programs, encouraging sufficient avenues to permanent residency for experienced, temporary Canadian farm workers.
• • STATISTICS CANADA – Census on Agriculture, ensuring accurate data for the Canadian agriculture industry.
• • STATISTICS CANADA – Crop Production Surveys, ensuring accurate production estimates for the Canadian agriculture industry.
• • STATISTICS CANADA – Information Dissemination, ensuring the Statistics Canada website facilitates access to agricultural information in a user-friendly fashion.

Regulation

• • AGRICULTURE & AGRI-FOOD CANADA - Agricultural Marketing Products Act regulations, to ensure that the Advance Payments Program continues to provide producers with access to advances on product marketing to alleviate unmanageable cash flow concerns.
• • AGRICULTURE & AGRI-FOOD CANADA – Plant Breeders’ Rights regulations, in respect to balancing the needs of producers with the interests of varietal developers, investors, and other relevant stakeholders.
• • AGRICULTURE AND AGRI-FOOD CANADA/HEALTH CANADA - regulations concerning biotechnology that ensures innovation within the agricultural industry, protection of the health and environment of Canadians, ensures competitive behaviour with regards to the results of biotechnology development, and maintains the rights of farmers to save seed.
• • AGRICULTURE AND AGRI-FOOD CANADA/HEALTH CANADA – regulations which concern the human treatment and handling of animals that could affect the management of farms, farm revenues or change costs to agricultural producers.
• • CANADIAN FOOD INSPECTION AGENCY – Feed regulations, in respect to new and innovative ingredients and ensuring competitiveness.
• • CANADIAN FOOD INSPECTION AGENCY – Fertilizer regulations, in respect to ensuring Canadian agriculture has timely access to safe, efficacious, fertilizer and supplements at competitive prices.
• • CANADIAN FOOD INSPECTION AGENCY – Regulatory modernization of all regulations under the new Safe Food for Canadians Act, in respect to building a world class food safety regulatory system.
• • CANADIAN GRAIN COMMISSION – Canada Grains Act regulations, in respect to ensuring payment security mechanisms provide adequate protection to producers facing instances of non-payment and/or late payment
• • EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT CANADA – Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, in respect to ensuring the Canadian agricultural industry has access to skilled, competitive labour.
• • FINANCE CANADA - Income, business, and Goods and Services taxation regulations, in respect to ensuring the Canadian agricultural industry and Canadian farmers exist in a competitive market and can remain competitive relative to their international competitors.
• • HEALTH CANADA – Pest Control Products Regulations, in respect of ensuring the science-based assessment and registration of pest control products is carried out in a competitive, healthy and environmentally safe manner that offers agricultural producers with economical input choices.