In addition, Bill C-280 helps Canadian farmers receive preferential access to the U.S. under the country’s Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA).
PACA establishes a code of fair-trading practices covering the marketing of fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables in interstate and foreign commerce, the USDA says.
Canada lost its preferential status in 2014 because of a lack of protection in Canada for U.S. exporters.
Since that time, Canadians selling produce to the U.S. would’ve had to pay double the bond on shipments to access PACA dispute resolution mechanisms.
Filing a $25,000 claim, for example, would’ve cost $50,000.
That’s “a cost that is simply untenable for many Canadian businesses,” the FVGC said in a statement along with the Canadian Produce Marketing Association and the Fruit and Vegetable Dispute Resolution Corporation.
Conservative MP Scot Davidson (York-Simcoe) introduced the bill in the House of Commons in June 2022.
“Every time I see the dark soil and endless rows of vegetables in the Holland Marsh in my community, the soup and salad bowl of Canada, I see opportunity,” he said in the House.
“In order for that opportunity to be fully realized in the marsh and across Canada, more must be done to protect Canada's fresh fruit and vegetable growers during the bankruptcy of a buyer.
“We know that fresh fruits and vegetables are highly perishable with a limited shelf life. Unfortunately, the existing laws do not take this into account.”