Ottawa-An update of the Canada Grains Act attracted no attention in the new federal budget even though three national farm organizations requested it last fall, says Kyle Larkin, Executive Director of Grain Growers of Canada (GGC).

The Canada Grains Act has not been updated for decades and does not fully serve the 21st century grain farmer, Larkin said. “The Canada Grains Act is the enabling legislation that supports grain farmers and needs to be modernized to reflect the realities of 2024.”

Among its outdated provisions is canola producers are unable to receive a second opinion on grading from the Canadian Grain Commission at canola crushing facilities, something that is available to them at grain elevators, he said.

GGC along with Canadian Canola Growers Association and the Canadian Federation of Agriculture have asked Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay to work for a review of the Act, which was last overhauled in 1971. “The Act has not kept pace with the evolution of the Canadian grain and oilseeds sector and the way farmers grow, deliver and sell crops.”

The Act should be overhauled to create a more agile and responsive Canadian Grain Commission (CGC), they said. Government leadership is needed to achieve an updated framework “to drive agriculture’s competitiveness, enhance producer protections, and reduce regulatory red tape, while ensuring high-quality grain for Canadians and our global customers.”

Ther three organizations each submitted detailed policy recommendations to a grain act review launched in 2021 by former minister Marie-Claude Bibeau calling for “a clear roadmap for change and a comprehensive path forward to legislative reform.”

Official communication about the review has been minimal since an August 2021 report and it is unclear what the government’s plans are.

The three farm organizations set out five priorities to modernize producer support including not making any changes to the Grains Act that aim to dilute farmers’ voice in the CGC. They also want enhanced producer protections, strengthened farmers’ position in the marketplace and greater confidence in the grain quality assurance system. Currently Final Quality Determination is not available at process elevators such as crush facilities or for over half of farmers’ canola, “therefore no longer fully accounting for how farmers deliver grain.”

The review should ensure a more predictable, cost-effective, and transparent producer payment security program is in place to insure farmers against the risk of not being paid for the grain they deliver to licensed grain buyers.

The CGC data requirements should be extended to provide transparency for export sales, vessel line ups, and container shipments so farmers can make more informed marketing decisions, the groups said.

Also additional government funds are needed to cover the public good function the CGC provides, such as grain quality assurance, and to ensure the viability of its operations. New funding should be transparent and move the CGC’s funding away from the existing model of cross-subsidization such as outward weighing and inspection paying for CGC operations.

This news item was prepared for National Newswatch