[BCFSN] Fwd: Update on Bill C-18 and a Call to Action

[Abra Brynne]

Hello all,
as you will see below, the only thing between Canadians and the passage of
an Act that runs directly counter to food sovereignty principles is the
Senate.

Please consider contacting your Senator and let her / him know you do not
want approval of the Act. And also take action by getting signatures on a
petition to take to your MP who must present it in the House of Commons. If
they hear from enough Canadians, a miracle of democracy just might happen...
in good food,
Abra
--
Abra Brynne
PO Box 684, Nelson, BC V1L 5R4
phone: 250.352.5342


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: NFU Office <nfu at nfu.ca>
Date: 8 December 2014 at 09:58
Subject: Update on Bill C-18 and a Call to Action
To: NFU Office <nfu at nfu.ca>


  *Update on Bill C-18 and a Call to Action*

*for a new Seed Act for Farmers*



Bill C-18 or *The Agricultural Growth Act* passed third reading on November
24, 2014. Once it passes through the Senate and receives royal assent,
Canada will have a new Plant Breeder's Rights Act which conforms with UPOV
'91 and a new Seeds Act. The Conservative party and the Liberal Party both
supported the Bill C-18. The NDP, Green Party and Bloc Quebecois voted
against it.



Last winter we published the *Fundamental Principles of a Farmers Seed Act**.
*The first sentence of that document is:



*The National Farmers Union calls for a new Seed Act for Farmers in which
Canada recognizes the inherent rights of farmers – derived from thousands
of years of custom and tradition – to save, reuse, exchange and sell seeds.*



*We will continue to advocate for a Seed Act for Farmers to replace our new
Plant Breeders Rights Act and Seeds Act. We need your continued support and
help!*



Although Bill C-18 has passed, the regulations that flow out of it have not
yet been written. There will be regulations written to describe how
end-point royalties will be implemented and collected in Canada. There will
also be regulations written to place limits on the 'farmers' privilege' –
for example to remove crop kinds or varieties. We need to make sure when
the above, and other, regulations are written they recognize our inherent
right as farmers to save, reuse, exchange and sell seeds. Who controls our
seeds needs to continue to be part of our political and public discussions.



*What can you do?*



·         Share this email with your on-line contacts and through social
media.



·         Continue to collect signatures and submit *The Right to Save
Seeds* petition to your MP. MPs from all political parties have presented
our petition in the House of Commons – it is an action they are expected to
take on behalf of their constituents, even if they do not support the
petition. Each time a petition is presented in the House it is a reminder
to other politicians that Canadians want our laws to recognize the inherent
rights of farmers to save, reuse, exchanges and sell seeds. The petition is
available at http://www.nfu.ca/issue/petition-right-save-seeds. At least
twenty-five signatures are required for a petition to be recognized.



·         Make copies of the *Fundamental Principles of a Farmers Seeds
Act, *and other NFU material to hand out at Seedy Saturdays, conferences,
meetings, and other public events over the coming months. Available at
http://www.nfu.ca/issue/stop-bill-c-18.



·         A federal election will take place in 2015. Candidates have
already been or are being nominated to run for all parties. Talk to your
sitting MP and to candidates running in the election about the need for *A
Seed Act for Farmers*. Give them some reading material from the NFU's
website and ask for their support to keep control of seeds in the hands of
farmers and our communities when they are elected to a seat in the House of
Commons.



·         Along with our partners in the Trade Justice Network, the
National Farmers Union is continuing to draw attention to the unprecedented
power handed to multinational corporations through the Canada-EU
Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). If CETA is finalized
multinational seed companies will be handed powerful new enforcement powers
to maintain their control over seeds. When you talk with MPs, candidates
and the public about the need for a Seed Act for Farmers, you can also ask
them to not support CETA or other trade agreements with Investor-State
Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanisms or additional tools to enforce
intellectual property rights, such as gene patents or plant breeders
rights. The NFU appeared before the Agriculture Committee on December 4 as
part of the committee's ongoing study of CETA. Our brief on CETA will be
posted on the NFU website shortly (or it may be posted already).



·         Renew your membership in and/or make a donation to the National
Farmers Union, so that we can continue to work with you to advocate for a
strong, healthy, democratically controlled food system based on the
principles of food sovereignty. The NFU does not accept sponsorships or
funding from multinational seed and chemical companies, so *the donations
we receive from our members and non-farm supporters are critical to
continuing our work*. Click here to join, renew and/or donate:
http://store.nfu.ca/membership.html



During the debate on Bill C-18, Minister of Agriculture Gerry Ritz said
that "there is only one small splinter farm group" that is against moving
ahead on Bill C-18. A 'splinter' is also a small piece of wood that gets
stuck in your finger and can be really annoying. We are happy to be
annoying when we are advocating on behalf of farmers and those who eat the
food we grow and harvest.



Minister Ritz also said during the debate on Bill C-18 that he was "not
interested in hearing from people in downtown Vancouver or downtown
Montreal." I would like to thank all of the non-farmers, including people
in downtown Vancouver and Montreal, for their ongoing support in the NFU's
campaign to keep seeds in the hands of farmers. A food system based on the
principles of food sovereignty requires the democratic participation of
both those who grow and harvest food and those who eat it. Thank you to all
who have and continue to support the NFU's call for a Seed Act for Farmers!



Ann Slater

NFU Vice President (Policy)

aslater at quadro.net

519-349-2448
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