Ottawa-CropLife Canada has welcomed the federal government’s red tape review exercise because it comes at a critical time for the agriculture industry and especially the plant science sector.

If Canada is to become the strongest economy in the G7 as per the ambitions of the current government, it will need the agriculture and food sector to flourish and grow, CropLife said. The sector already accounts for 7 per cent of the country’s GDP with opportunities to double its contributions during the next 10 years.

“Much of the opportunity lies in low hanging fruit. For example, no-cost measures to improve the efficiency of the regulatory system and ensure farmers have timely access to the innovative new seed and crop protection tools they need to increase productivity and compete in the global marketplace.”

While many of the recommendations in the red tape review progress reports from Health Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) related to plant science innovations are a step in the right direction, there is an urgent need to go further and for bold, decisive action from the government, CropLife said.

“When it comes to the PMRA the challenges are particularly acute. Annually, there are currently half as many submissions of new products going into the PMRA as there were a decade ago and yet the timelines for approval have nearly doubled. This significantly diminishes Canada’s reputation as a global regulatory leader and disadvantages Canadian farmers.”

As the government looks to drive more investment and innovation in Canada, it must ensure that the regulatory system is positioned to handle an increase in new product submissions. “This will require smart, modern regulatory approaches that are as innovative as the products they are designed to regulate.”

The government to aggressively pursue returning the PMRA to a place where it delivers on its core performance commitments. “The plant science industry stands ready and willing to work with the government to create a path forward where we have a world-leading regulatory system for plant science innovations that maintains high standards for health and safety while enabling timely access to new products.”

Treasury Board President Shafqat Ali has announced that a 60-day red tape review exercise has produced progress reports “identifying nearly 500 recent and forward-looking initiatives to streamline services, cut duplication and reduce costs for Canadians and businesses. These reports mark a major step forward in our ongoing commitment to eliminating red tape.”

Agriculture and transportation were among the sectors Ali identified as benefitting from quicker decision-making and streamlined processes to increase productivity. Reduced red tape will support projects to drive economic growth and greater collaboration with trading partners to reduce barriers and help get products to market faster.

This news report perepared for National Newswatch