Dec. 4, 2017

To Whom it May Concern

RE:  suggestions for regulatory reconciliation and regulatory cooperation items for federal consideration,                                                            

Founded in 1935 to provide Canada's farmers with a single voice in Ottawa, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture is the country's largest general farm organization. Its members include provincial general farm organizations, as well as national and inter-provincial commodity organizations. Through its members, CFA represents over 200,000 Canadian farmers and farm families.

Agriculture is an essential part of the economic, political and social fabric of Canada and is critical to the well- being of all Canadians. It plays a strategic role and is the backbone of rural communities. Agriculture and agri-food are important elements of the Canadian economy, directly providing one in eight jobs, employing 2.1 million people in rural and urban Canada and accounting for 8.0% of total GDP. 

At the February 2017 General Annual meeting, members of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture unanimously passed a resolution calling for the inter-provincial harmonization of trucking weight limits.

International trade discussions, the recent CFTA, and a comprehensive consultation on rail transportation, all point to the importance of removing all the barriers to competitiveness that we can identify in grain transportation.  But it was also a good reminder that the importance of eliminating competitive barriers is not limited to the grain industry or to rail transportation, it includes the movement of all agricultural products using an extensive network of Canadian roads and highways. 

To that end CFA members from across Canada recently made note of the fact that weight limits/axle configurations imposed on our trucking industry may vary considerably between provinces. You can imagine the trade and transportation irritant that poses with the volume of agricultural goods moving across Canada by road. In fact, this barrier is not exclusive to agricultural products. Recent reports indicate that close to 60% of goods exported to the U.S. are transported by truck.

However, because this issue is so important just to the agricultural industry alone, CFA is asking for your help in removing this regulatory impediment.  We would like to ask the CFTA Regulatory and Reconciliation Table to make the inter-provincial harmonization of trucking weight limits/axle configurations a priority. 

The second issue we would like the RCT to examine for potential regulatory alignment is the challenge created by not allowing provincially inspected meat to cross provincial borders. This is especially important to the sheep industry and without undermining health and food safety we ask this issue to be addressed by the RCT in the CFTA.

On both issues, the importance of facilitating the efficient movement of goods, and leveling the playing field across Canada is undisputed and so we thank you for your consideration.