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CapitalPress.com
Friday, February 11, 2022
Q&A with Canada’s ag minister, Marie-Claude Bibeau
By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN
Capital Press
imate and that we can allo-
cate the tariff-rate quotas.
We can choose the way we
allocate them.
But they asked us to
review the way we were
doing it to avoid — and
I’m not giving you the legal
language but just trying to
be accessible — to avoid
doing it in a “pre-emptive”
manner.
We’ve submitted an alter-
native way of allocating the
quotas to the Americans for
comment.
And, I mean, I think (as)
Canadians, we’re good at
following the rules. We want
to play this by the book, and
we will find a way to do it
properly.
Some U.S. dairy groups
also allege that Canada has
been intentionally skirt-
ing the USMCA’s export
caps on dairy proteins by
shifting production and
exports toward more milk
protein isolates, a category
of dairy protein not cited
in USMCA. What’s your
response?
Bibeau:
Under
the
USMCA, Canada has an
obligation to maintain
export controls on three
dairy products: skim milk
powder, milk protein con-
centrates and infant formula.
This is what we’ve imple-
mented, and we take this
obligation very seriously.
The (Canadian) govern-
ment doesn’t direct private
enterprises to export specific
products. Canadian export-
ers make business deci-
sions as to which products
they export, whether they be
export-controlled or not.
Shifting to the meat
industry – there’s a lot of
talk in Congress about
reintroducing
coun-
try-of-origin
labeling,
or COOL, which would
require meat companies
to disclose where animals
were born, raised and
slaughtered. How do you
feel about that? Where do
you stand on COOL, and
why?
Bibeau: I’ve discussed
LEGAL
PURSUANT TO ORS
CHAPTER 87
Notice is hereby given that the
following vehicle will be sold,
for cash to the highest bidder, on
02/22/2022. The sale will be held
at 10:00am by
LIGHT TRUCK PARTS OF SALEM INC
2510 TURNER RD SALEM, OR
1990 INTL DU
VIN = 1HTSCNDP9LH300214
Amount due on lien $2190.00
Reputed owner(s)
ROSEBURG FOREST PRODUCTS CO
LEGAL
PURSUANT TO ORS
CHAPTER 87
Notice is hereby given that the
following vehicle will be sold,
for cash to the highest bidder, on
02/22/2022. The sale will be held
at 10:00am by
LIGHT TRUCK PARTS OF SALEM INC
2510 TURNER RD SALEM, OR
2005 CHEV TBZ UT
VIN = 1GNDT13S352344680
Amount due on lien $2190.00
Reputed owner(s)
AT AND T SERVICES INC
LEGAL
PURSUANT TO ORS
CHAPTER 87
Notice is hereby given that the
following vehicle will be sold,
for cash to the highest bidder, on
02/21/2022. The sale will be held
at 10:00am by
COPART OF WASHINGTON INC
2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR
2021 HYUN KONA 4DR
VIN = KM8K23AG9MU126366
Amount due on lien $1515.00
Reputed owner(s)
ALBERTO SCHLAGENHAUFER
HYUNDAI LEASE TITLING LSSR/TRST
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PURSUANT TO ORS
CHAPTER 87
Notice is hereby given that the
following vehicle will be sold,
for cash to the highest bidder, on
02/24/2022. The sale will be held
at 10:00am by
LIGHT TRUCK PARTS OF SALEM INC
2510 TURNER RD SALEM, OR
1990 CHEV CORVETTE 2D
VIN = 1G1YY2387L5120435
Amount due on lien $116.00
Reputed owner(s)
LIGHT TRUCK PARTS
Marianne Dandurand/Minister’s Office
Canadian Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Marie-Claude Bibeau visits a Christmas tree farm.
LEGAL
PURSUANT TO ORS
CHAPTER 87
Notice is hereby given that the
following vehicle will be sold,
for cash to the highest bidder, on
02/21/2022. The sale will be held
at 10:00am by
COPART OF WASHINGTON INC
2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR
2016 BMW 528 4DR
VIN = WBA5A7C51GG145632
Amount due on lien $1395.00
Reputed owner(s)
DAVID ADAM KOHEL
BMW BANK OF NORTH AMERICA
LEGAL
PURSUANT TO ORS
CHAPTER 87
Notice is hereby given that the
following vehicle will be sold,
for cash to the highest bidder, on
02/22/2022. The sale will be held
at 10:00am by
LIGHT TRUCK PARTS OF SALEM INC
2510 TURNER RD SALEM, OR
2007 FORD F150 PK
VIN = 1FTPW14V37FA23451
Amount due on lien $2190.00
Reputed owner(s)
TED TIAGA & HEATHER SCHOCH
LEGAL
PURSUANT TO ORS
CHAPTER 87
Notice is hereby given that the
following vehicle will be sold,
for cash to the highest bidder, on
02/22/2022. The sale will be held
at 10:00am by
LIGHT TRUCK PARTS OF SALEM INC
2510 TURNER RD SALEM, OR
2002 FORD EC3 BU
VIN = 1FBSS31L72HB06774
Amount due on lien $2190.00
Reputed owner(s)
KENNETH & DEBORAH HENDERSON
FIRST COMMUNITY CREDIT UNION
LEGAL
PURSUANT TO ORS
CHAPTER 87
Notice is hereby given that the
following vehicle will be sold,
for cash to the highest bidder, on
02/21/2022. The sale will be held
at 10:00am by
COPART OF WASHINGTON INC
2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR
2019 FORD RANGER PU
VIN = 1FTER4FHXKLA79937
Amount due on lien $1435.00
Reputed owner(s)
JASON ALAN SMITH
FORD MOTOR CREDIT CO
LEGAL
PURSUANT TO ORS
CHAPTER 87
Notice is hereby given that the
following vehicle will be sold,
for cash to the highest bidder, on
02/21/2022. The sale will be held
at 10:00am by
COPART OF WASHINGTON INC
2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR
2021 KIA SOUL UT
VIN = KNDJ23AU1M7142808
Amount due on lien $2055.00
Reputed owner(s)
DANIEL WULF & DEREK
ZACK/ALLSTATE
LEGAL
PURSUANT TO ORS
CHAPTER 87
Notice is hereby given that the
following vehicle will be sold,
for cash to the highest bidder, on
02/21/2022. The sale will be held
at 10:00am by
COPART OF WASHINGTON INC
2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR
2020 JAGU XE S 4DR
VIN = SAJAE4FX9LCP56576
Amount due on lien $1435.00
Reputed owner(s) MELVIND PEREZ
MACARAIG/JPMORGAN
JPMORGAN CHASE BANK NA
LEGAL
PURSUANT TO ORS
CHAPTER 87
Notice is hereby given that the
following vehicle will be sold,
for cash to the highest bidder, on
02/21/2022. The sale will be held
at 10:00am by
COPART OF WASHINGTON INC
2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR
2011 CHEV SLV PK
VIN = 1GCRKTE33BZ224805
Amount due on lien $1515.00
Reputed owner(s)
BRUCE D & DANYELL D LOGSDON
LEGAL
PURSUANT TO ORS
CHAPTER 87
Notice is hereby given that the
following vehicle will be sold,
for cash to the highest bidder, on
02/21/2022. The sale will be held
at 10:00am by
COPART OF WASHINGTON INC
2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR
2018 TOYT RAV 4 UT
VIN = JTMBFREV9JJ244418
Amount due on lien $1515.00
Reputed owner(s)
TOYOTA LEASE TRUST
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LEGAL
PURSUANT TO ORS
CHAPTER 87
Notice is hereby given that the
following vehicle will be sold,
for cash to the highest bidder, on
02/21/2022. The sale will be held
at 10:00am by
COPART OF WASHINGTON INC
2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR
2015 BMW 328 4DR
VIN = WBA3K5C56FK300647
Amount due on lien $1395.00
Reputed owner(s)
ASHISH GUPTA/GUPTA FAMILY TRUST
S281217-1
LEGAL
PURSUANT TO ORS
CHAPTER 87
Notice is hereby given that the
following vehicle will be sold,
for cash to the highest bidder, on
02/21/2022. The sale will be held
at 10:00am by
COPART OF WASHINGTON INC
2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR
2012 BMW 528 4DR
VIN = WBAXH5C58CDW03896
Amount due on lien $1435.00
Reputed owner(s)
NOC & JENNIFER
SANCHEZ HERNANDEZ
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tosanitary measures.
I was in Washington
(D.C.) last week, and my
request to Secretary Vilsack
was to ask APHIS (USDA’s
Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service) to focus
on table stock. We are ask-
ing the Americans to open
up for table stock because
we have all these measures
in place to make sure it’s
safe.
(Vilsack) told me it could
confidently be done within a
week or two for Puerto Rico
to start, where the risk is low
because the disease does not
develop in such a climate
and because Puerto Rico is
not really a potato producer.
And then we have pro-
cessing potatoes, which will
be transformed into french
fries or chips. Normally,
processing potatoes are not
washed before being sent.
It’s the processing facilities
that have in place the appro-
priate equipment to wash
them and to manage all the
waste and wastewater. So,
it’s an in-between risk cate-
gory. Discussion about pro-
cessing potatoes will happen
at a later phase.
What percentage of
Canada’s total potato crop
typically comes from PEI?
Bibeau: I don’t have the
numbers in front of me, but
it’s extremely significant.
Depending on the year, it’s
the first or the second prov-
ince that produces the most
potatoes.
Potatoes are for them
what oranges are for Florida
or grapes in California. It’s
nothing less than their iden-
tity. It’s their pride for gen-
erations. So, this disruption
is extremely hard.
In a Ministerial Man-
date Letter Dec. 16, Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau
asked you to work with the
Minister of Environment
and Climate Change to
establish a “Canada Water
Agency.” How will this
new agency impact both
Canadian and American
farmers who rely on many
of the same river basins?
Bibeau: The agency
will be designed to comple-
ment and work in collabora-
tion with initiatives already
underway within the gov-
ernment as well as at the pro-
vincial, territorial and local
levels. The government will
respect international com-
mitments and work with the
U.S. in the management of
water resources shared by
our two countries.
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Canada. For wheat, Canada
has 178 foreign-bred variet-
ies actively registered, and
of these, 84, 47% of all for-
eign bred wheat varieties,
(are) American-bred. (The)
USA is the leading country
for foreign variety registra-
tions in Canada.
Canada has taken steps
in recent years to modernize
the variety registration sys-
tem to promote innovation,
enhance competitiveness,
traceability and system effi-
ciencies, and facilitate pro-
ducers’ timely access to new
varieties, including those
developed in the U.S.
Does that mean you
plan on keeping the reg-
istration system as-is, at
least for now? No major
changes in the near future?
Bibeau:
Mmmhmm.
This is not on my desk right
now, so no — no major
changes expected in the near
future.
The National Potato
Council applauded Can-
ada’s recent decision to
temporarily halt exports
of potatoes from Prince
Edward Island (PEI) to
prevent potato wart, a
serious disease that’s cur-
rently in PEI, from spread-
ing into other Canadian
provinces or U.S. potato
crops. When do you think
PEI potatoes will resume
their flow?
Bibeau: Well, there are
three categories of potatoes.
Seed potatoes are planted
in the soil to grow other
potatoes. If they’re contam-
inated, they could contami-
nate the soil. So, higher risk
is around seed potatoes. This
is why we have a Canadian
order saying that seed pota-
toes are not moving out of
the island until we complete
a full investigation, with
tens of thousands of addi-
tional soil sampling(s) and
analysis.
Then we have the table-
stock
potatoes.
Table-
stock potatoes are washed,
brushed (and) treated with
what we call a sprout inhib-
itor to make sure that these
potatoes cannot grow. They
come from fields that are
not known as having ever
been affected by the disease.
And they are directed to gro-
cery stores, not for garden-
ing, not for agriculture. So,
this is why we — and I’m
working with scientists —
strongly believe that table-
stock can move. They’re
moving within Canada fol-
lowing these very strict phy-
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this with Secretary Vilsack,
who has provided assurances
that any country-of-origin
labeling measure considered
by the U.S. would be (World
Trade Organization) compli-
ant. We trust the U.S. to live
up to that commitment.
Canada will continue to
closely examine any label-
ing measure proposed by
the U.S. to ensure that it
does not restrict trade or
disrupt important food sup-
ply chains between our two
countries.
So, in theory, if the U.S.
created a labeling system
that was WTO-compliant
and didn’t restrict trade or
supply chains, would you
support it? I’m looking for
a yes or no.
Bibeau: Ha! You know
politicians — we’re so bad
at yes or no. (She laughed.)
I would prefer to put it
another way around.
I think it’s totally legiti-
mate for a country to define
better what is an Ameri-
can or Canadian product.
And actually, we do that in
Canada. Secretary Vilsack
called me when he started
this work. He wanted to
explain to me that this is
what he was working on and
that he would be very care-
ful to stay within your and
our international rules. My
understanding is that (the
U.S. is) working on the defi-
nition of what an American
produces, and that is totally
legitimate. But if it was to
turn into a COOL, we would
obviously firmly oppose (it).
Let’s move onto grain.
Prior to USMCA, U.S.
wheat sold in Canada
would automatically be
graded as foreign feed-
grade wheat, for livestock.
Under the trade agree-
ment, that’s no longer the
case, meaning growers
compete on a more level
playing field. The chal-
lenge now is that American
wheat growers must use
Canada’s variety registra-
tion system, which many
call “burdensome.” Do
you have plans to change
the registration system
to allow easier market
access?
Bibeau: Canada’s vari-
ety registration system is
not a barrier to trade. For-
eign variety developers are
treated the same as Cana-
dian developers. By the end
of 2021, there were approx-
imately 43% foreign-bred
varieties, across all field
crops, actively registered in
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The U.S. and Canadian
farming sectors are intri-
cately interwoven, bound
by a long history of trade,
travel and shared character-
istics between the neighbor-
ing countries.
According to the Interna-
tional Trade Administration,
in
2020,
Canada was
the
sec-
ond largest
export mar-
ket for U.S.
agricultural
goods, total-
ing
more
Marie-
Claude
than
$22
Bibeau
billion and
accounting
for nearly 15% of U.S. agri-
cultural exports.
In March 2019, Marie-
Claude Bibeau, now 51,
became the first woman
in Canadian history to be
appointed federal Minis-
ter of Agriculture and Agri-
Food — the nation’s top ag
official, an equivalent role
to USDA Secretary Tom
Vilsack.
On Feb. 3, Bibeau sat
down with Capital Press
reporter
Sierra
Dawn
McClain for a wide-rang-
ing interview. The text has
been edited for brevity and
clarity.
Let’s talk dairy. Under
the U.S.-Mexico-Canada
Agreement
(USMCA),
Canada agreed to new
market access for U.S.
dairy products. The U.S.
dairy industry alleges Can-
ada has been evading these
obligations by reserving
most of its tariff-rate quo-
tas (TRQs) — preferen-
tial rates on certain vol-
umes — for processors,
which have little incentive
to import U.S. dairy. Jan.
4, the U.S. prevailed in the
first dispute settlement on
this issue. How and when
will Canada move into
compliance?
Bibeau: I’m pleased with
the dispute settlement pan-
el’s report, which ruled in
favor of Canada and rec-
ognized the legitimacy of
our supply-managed dairy
industry. We’re currently
reviewing the one out of
four rulings against Canada.
Canada takes its obli-
gations under international
agreements seriously.
In the coming weeks,
Canada will work closely
with the Canadian dairy
industry to proceed with
next steps in the dispute pro-
cess, considering that the
panel affirmed that Canada
retains discretion to allocate
quotas to processors.
So, it sounds like both
Canada and the U.S. are
claiming partial victory in
the dispute. Can you clar-
ify which of the rulings
you see as being against
Canada versus in favor?
Bibeau: Well, the panel
confirmed that the supply
management system is legit-
The agency will help
ensure Canadian farmers
have a reliable supply of
quality freshwater by pro-
tecting lakes, rivers and
other freshwater systems.
The Washington state
apple industry has faced
barriers trying to intro-
duce the new Cosmic Crisp
apple variety to Cana-
dian consumers because
of COVID restrictions,
including limited taste
testing at retail stores. Do
you expect that to change
in 2022?
Bibeau: COVID-19, and
the safety restrictions it’s
brought, have affected sup-
ply chains and commerce
around the world. This
might include restrictions or
limitations on taste testing
demonstrations in grocery
stores. Provinces have juris-
diction on many retail store
practices, (and) individual
retailers themselves may
impose additional restric-
tions in the name of safety,
independent of any order of
government.
Like the U.S., Canada
faces an ongoing agricul-
tural labor crisis. I under-
stand you may be look-
ing to expand pathways to
permanent residence for
temporary foreign work-
ers. Can you explain your
strategy?
Bibeau: We’re looking
at several ways to address
this challenge, includ-
ing reducing processing
times. And, we’ve estab-
lished a pilot program
that provides a pathway
to permanent residence
for experienced, non-sea-
sonal workers in specific
industries and occupa-
tions, including several in
agriculture and food pro-
cessing. Those applying
for permanent residence
under the Agri-Food Pilot
must meet certain condi-
tions, such as having eligi-
ble experience in Canada,
and meet language and
education requirements.
CP: Where do you see
untapped opportunities
for collaboration between
the U.S. and Canada that
could benefit farmers in
both countries?
Bibeau: There are
many opportunities to
grow the Canada-U.S.
agriculture relationship,
and we have many priori-
ties in common.
As Secretary Vilsack
and I have noted, address-
ing climate change is a
critical global challenge.
But it also provides col-
laborative opportunities.
(And)
COVID-19
demonstrated how critical
Canada-U.S.
agricultural
supply chains are to food
security.
Do you have any final
thoughts?
Bibeau: Just that our
agriculture sectors are so
much integrated. I mean,
it’s amazing to see how our
commodities go from one
side of the border to the
other and then come back
and sometimes a third time.
We can be proud of this
collaboration between our
producers, ag businesses
and our governments. It’s
great.
Update: On Feb. 8,
USDA announced
the
resumption of allowing
table-stock potatoes from
Prince Edward Island, Can-
ada, into Puerto Rico.
