Good morning.

My name is Pierre Petelle. I'm the president and CEO of CropLife Canada.

I'll be sharing my time and opening remarks with my colleague from CropLife who is with me today, Émilie Bergeron, vice-president of chemistry.

Thank you very much for inviting us to participate in your study on the impact of border carbon adjustments and reciprocity standards on Canadian agriculture.

CropLife Canada is a national trade association representing the manufacturers, developers and distributors of crop protection products and plant breeding innovations for both the conventional side and the organic side, representatives of which were here earlier.

We advocate for a predictable, science-based regulatory environment for both pesticides and plant breeding innovations in Canada and internationally. Furthermore, we champion a regulatory environment that both protects human and environmental safety while encouraging innovation and competitiveness.

As a heavily trade-dependent nation and the fifth-largest food exporter in the world, in fact, Canada must ensure that protectionist measures are vigorously challenged and that we don’t contribute to this trend by imposing measures that, while well intentioned, could result in further trade-restrictive actions by our trading partners.

Our regulatory system for crop protection and plant breeding innovations is rigorous and protective of health and the environment. We mustn’t let other countries dictate what’s in our farmers’ tool box. It could be tempting to call for the adoption of unilateral reciprocity measures to create a level playing field for growers. However, the adoption of these measures could result in a race to the bottom, preventing producers from using safe and efficient tools to produce the abundant and affordable food that we need to feed the growing population.

Don't get me wrong: We have a lot of work to do on our own domestic regulatory system to be more nimble, to encourage new innovations and to make sure our farmers are the best equipped to deal with growing pest pressures and increasingly volatile weather. However, in our view, the best way of supporting the competitiveness of the agriculture sector is through increasing regulatory harmonization and co-operation with trusted jurisdictions and by promoting the adoption of international safety standards.

I'll turn it over to Émilie.