Motion tabled to deal with competitive imbalance

There have long been complaints about how farmers in other countries, most notably the United States, have access to commercial products not allowed in Canada. Some of those disallowed products are used on food commodities that are imported into Canada. Ontario M.P. Bev Shipley who represents the constituency of Lambton-Kent-Middlesex has tabled a motion in the House of Commons to deal with this issue. Shipley is requesting that Canada consider using the equivalent scientific research and agricultural regulatory approval processes of other trading nations, provided the results are consistent with Canadian standards. He points out that there isn’t any need to reinvent the wheel every time a new product comes on the market. The duplication of testing results in extra costs and delays. Sometimes the Canadian market isn’t large enough to justify the testing and the product isn’t registered in Canada. There have been many government promises over the years to deal with this inequity. Shipley’s motion is set to receive its first hour of debate in the New Year. While well-intentioned, I fear that it won’t be enough to change our entrenched regulatory procedures. I’m Kevin Hursh.