Agriculture issues are a concern

By Martin Shields Member of Parliament Bow River Riding

We’re nearing the end of the Spring session in the House of Commons, but there is always much work to do. I’ve been focused on my work in the Heritage Committee studying Safe Sport, the fallout from Bills C-11 and C-18, as well as talking about rural connectivity concerning the Auditor General’s report. But I’ve also paid close attention to several agriculture issues that have come to my desk, such as the mandatory use of Electronic Logging Devices (ELD) for long haul transportation, the banning of the dichlorvos insecticide for leaf cutter bee protection, and the proposed changes to the Health of Animals Act by the CFIA. I will try to briefly highlight these issues in this column, but for more information and if these affect you, please email my office. I would like to hear from you.

Mandatory ELD use: Since January 2023, the use of ELDs has been mandatory for long haul trucking. In the agriculture industry however, the use of ELDs can pose a problem for certain time sensitive products such as livestock, produce, or animal byproducts, for example. The electronic log will force drivers to stop their vehicles wherever they may be if they reach the legal time limit for hours of service. In the United States for example, an exemption for “agricultural commodities” exists within a 150-air mile radius. I am working towards achieving a harmonization with the US to provide some type of exemption for Ag products.

Dichlorvos is an insecticide used to protect leaf cutter bees from parasites so they can continue to pollinate alfalfa and canola. Leaf cutter bees tend to be more effective at pollination than honey bees, but the ban on this insecticide has officially come into force by the PMRA. Our crop growers need this chemical to manage parasites in the bee populations. 

Finally, the CFIA is proposing regulatory changes to the Health of Animals Act to provide that agriculture exhibitors like fairs, rodeos, 4-H, Ag societies, etc. be required to manage the livestock identification traceability for each animal delivered to their grounds. Rather than the onus being on the owner of the animal as it currently stands, the CFIA intends to bring this burden to the operator of the exhibition. Many of these fairs are volunteer run, and this added red tape would be a significant barrier to many in the industry. 

What do you think about these agriculture issues? Send me an email: Martin.Shields@parl.gc.ca

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