Strengthening Agricultural Sustainability through Economic Considerations in Regulatory Frameworks

Issue: 

The increasing complexity and cost of regulatory changes by CFIA and PMRA are disproportionately burdening agricultural producers, particularly small and family-owned operations. This is leading to the closure of many operations, threatening both food security in Canada and the broader agricultural economy. 

Background: 

Canada's agriculture and agri-food sector contributes significantly to the national economy, providing 2.3 million jobs and contributing $143.8 billion—or 7.4%—to GDP76.

Ensuring the sector’s continued competitiveness is essential for long-term prosperity and addressing food security concerns within the Canadian population, as well as the rest of the world Canadian agriculture supplies to. 

Our Recommendations

1. Integrate Economic Considerations into the Public Service Values and Ethics Code by amending the Values and Ethics Code of the Public Service to include “Economic values and impact”;
2. Require a Comprehensive Economic Impact Assessment for All Agricultural Regulations before implementing new regulations; and,
3. Consult with small scale to large scale agricultural and agri-food industry producers, operators, industry representatives and post-secondary institutions before implementing new regulations and to assess existing regulations to address economic impacts and unintended consequences such as increased cost and compliance burdens.