PM Carney commits to participate in resolving canola issue with China

Multiple ministers are also working on the file, he told reporters

Prime Minister Mark Carney will be personally involved in discussions with China about the ongoing canola challenges.

Speaking to reporters in Toronto, Ont., on Wednesday about cabinet priorities and a fall budget, the prime minister brought up canola when answering a question related to relationships with countries like China.

“We’re going to work hard to get that right,” he said. “The minister of international trade has been engaged, our foreign minister is engaged, (and) I will be engaged to work to find a solution for our agricultural relationship.”

China put a 75.8 per cent tariff on canola imports last month following an anti-dumping investigation.

These tariffs will hurt farmers, Canada’s canola industry said.

“With this preliminary determination of dumping for canola seed together with the existing 100% anti-discrimination tariffs on canola meal and oil, the Chinese market is effectively closed to the Canadian canola industry,” Chris Davison, president and CEO of the Canola Council of Canada, said in a statement.

At the time, canola prices dropped, putting additional strain on growers.

“This $1 per bushel drop today takes all the profit out of an average crop and turns a below-average crop into a loser,” one farmer posted in an Agriville.com thread.

Fertilizer bought earlier in the year now looks far less economical, the farmer added.

The prime minister's comments related to canola begin around the 18:00 minute mark of the video.