WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/AG/N/CAN/73 
27 February 2009 
 (09-1026) 
Committee on Agriculture Original:   English/ 
 French 
 
 
 
NOTIFICATION 
 
  The following submission, dated 25 February 2009,  is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegation of Canada .  The notification concerns new or m odified domestic suppor t measures exempt 
from reduction ( Table DS:2 ). 
 
 G/AG/N/CAN/73 
Page 2  
 
  Table DS:2 
DOMESTIC SUPPORT:  CANADA  
 
Notification under Article 18:3 of the Agreement:  
New or modified domestic support measures exempt from reduction 
__________________________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
(1) Full title of measure:  
  Grains and Oilseed Payment Program (GOPP) 
 
(2) Domestic legislation reference:  
 
 Canada:  Subsection 12(5) and Section 19 of the Farm Income Protection Act 
 
(3) Detailed description of measure with reference to criteria:  
 
Grains and Oilseeds Payment Program – The Federal government provided a payment to 
producers of grains, oilseeds and special crops th at have been affected by the steady decline 
in the prices of grains and oilseeds over the last ten years.  
 
Producers of eligible grains, oilseeds and special  crops that had reported farm income in 2004 
or 2005 for tax purposes were eligible for a pa yment based on a percentage of a producer's 
five year average of historic net sales of elig ible grains, oilseeds and special crops (2000 to 
2004) or a producer's net sales of eligible grains, oilseeds and special crops in 2005, 
respectively.  Eligible net sales were defined as total sales of all eligible grains, oilseeds and 
special crops plus production insurance indemnities minus total purchases of eligible commodities. 
 
This payment conforms with the general crite ria under Annex 2, paragraph 1 and the policy 
specific criteria under decoupled income suppor t (paragraph 6).  The support is provided 
through a publicly funded government program not involving transfers from consumers; and 
does not have the effect of providing price s upport to producers.  Eligibility for this program 
was based on clearly defined criteria in a fi xed and defined base period and the amount was 
not based on the type or volume of production, prices or factors of production employed in 
any year after the base period. 
 
(4) Cost of measure:  
 
 $755 million  
(5) Date of entry into effect:  
 
 January 2006  
(6) Period of application:  
  FY 2005/2006 
  G/AG/N/CAN/73 
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  (7) Products to principally benefit (if any individual product(s)):  
 
 Wheat, Barley, Oats, Rye, Corn, Soybeans, Canola, Flax, Lentils, Dry peas, Buckwheat, 
Chickpeas, Mustard, Millet, Borage, Sunflowe r, Canary Seed, Carraway Seed, Coriander, 
Fababeans, Safflower, Triticale, Spelt, Kamut, Quinoa, Hemp, Linola, Kenaf, Beans: Black; 
Great Northern; Pink; Pinto; Small Red; White pea; Cranberry; Kidney; Adzuki; Broad; 
Jacob; Soldier. 
 G/AG/N/CAN/73 
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  Table DS:2 
DOMESTIC SUPPORT:  CANADA  
 
Notification under Article 18:3 of the Agreement:  
New or modified domestic support measures exempt from reduction 
__________________________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
(1) Full title of measure:  
  Farm Investment Fund (Nova Scotia) 
 
(2) Domestic legislation reference:  
 
 Canada:  Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food Act , Section 4 
Nova Scotia:  Public Service Act authority - Sections 27 and 87, and the Appropriations Act 
2003, Section 2.  OIC 2003-343 
 
(3) Detailed description of measure with reference to criteria:  
 
 The Farm Investment Fund supports sustainabl e growth in Nova Scotia farm businesses by 
providing investment for projects that enhan ce economic viability, farm and food safety, and 
promote environmental stewardship.  Program  objectives are to enhance skills of farm 
business owners and their employees; develop marketing and value-added opportunities; 
increase awareness and compliance of farm and public protection; and improve the level of environmental management.  Applicants can r eceive up to $10,000 per program year.  Large 
project(s) may be eligible for up to an equiva lent of two years funding ($20,000) if completed 
within the program year of project approval. 
   The Business Management a nd Human Resource Development
 component (Annex 2, 
paragraph 2(c))  facilitates farm business development.  Activities include market research, 
development of new agricultural products a nd services, nutrient management planning, 
applied training and upgrading in business ma nagement, farm safety, communications and 
entrepreneurship skills. 
  The  Regulatory Compliance & Food and Farm Safety
 component (Annex 2, paragraph 2(d)) 
focuses on increased awareness and compliance of  farm and public protection.  Eligible 
project activities may include efforts to address Occupational Health and Safety Act (OH&S) 
requirements (e.g., tractor roll-over protection (R OP) and seat belts, training, first aid kits, 
eyewash stations), Hazard Analysis at Critical  Control Points (HACCP) and other measures 
related to animal health or food safety.  A ll projects to address HACCP and other food safety 
measures must be supported by a qualified professional assessment based on licensing and legislated requirements. 
 
 The Agro-Environmental Initiatives
 (Annex 2, paragraph 12) focuses on improving the level 
of environmental management.  Project activities include manure storages, fuel storages (stationary), pesticide storages, soil erosi on control structures, mortality and manure 
composting, farm wastewater treatment, prevention of nuisance odours through the 
installation of manure storage covers, stream ba nk protection, alternative energy projects, and 
farm yard runoff control systems. 
  G/AG/N/CAN/73 
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   Bio-Diversity Initiatives  (Annex 2, paragraph 12) focuses on assisting producers in 
developing or improving on-farm wildlife ha bitats.  Project activities include: wildlife 
flushing bars, farm ponds reduc ing farm water runoff, wetland restoration, beaver pond 
management, and invasive species control-purple loosestrife. 
 
 All of these programs conform with the genera l criteria under Annex 2,  paragraph 1 and the 
policy specific criteria under various sub-pa ragraphs of the General Services category 
(paragraphs 2(c), (d)) or Environmental Program s (paragraph 12).  The support is  provided 
through a publicly funded government program not involving transfers from consumers and does not have the effect of providing price s upport to producers.  Under the General Services 
programs, support is for training or extensi on and does not provide direct payments to 
producers. Support under Environmental Programs (paragraph 12) compensates for incremental costs of fulfilling environmental requirements. 
 
(4) Cost of measure:  
 
 The total cost of the program is $3.6 million.  
(5) Date of entry into effect:  
 
 May 2004 
 
(6) Period of application:  
 
 May 2004 to March 2008  (7) Products to principally benefit (if any individual product(s)):  
 
 Any product. 
 
 
 G/AG/N/CAN/73 
Page 6  
 
  Table DS:2 
DOMESTIC SUPPORT:  CANADA  
 
Notification under Article 18:3 of the Agreement:  
New or modified domestic support measures exempt from reduction 
__________________________________________________________________________________ 
  
(1) Full title of measure:  
  Agri-Food Industry Development Fund (Nova Scotia) 
 
(2) Domestic legislation reference:  
 
Nova Scotia: Public Service Act authority - S ections 27 and 87, and the Appropriations Act 
2003, Section 2.  OIC 2003-343 
 
(3) Detailed description of measure with reference to criteria:  
 
 The Agri-Food Industry Development Fund encour ages an entrepreneurial and market driven 
view of the agriculture and food industry, and its role in adaptation, economic growth and 
rural development in Nova Scotia.
 The objective of the Agri-Food Industry Development 
Fund is to develop opportunities for viable, l ong-term domestic and export markets for Nova 
Scotia agriculture and food products;  in troduce new agriculture and food marketing 
technologies and systems; enhance management, organizational, leadership and technical 
skills in the agri-food industry; create an awar eness of the value of the agri-food industry to 
Nova Scotia's economic growth; and, provide for self-directed sector development, innovation 
and change management through agri cultural industry organizations. 
 
  Eligible applicants include agri-businesses, agricultural industry associations and strategic 
alliances representing identifiable Nova Scotia agri-food products and services. In addition, 
government agencies and universities may be e ligible, provided that industry support and 
partnership is demonstrated.  Financial as sistance is provided on approved projects to a 
maximum of $20,000 per program year on approved projects. 
 
  The program is composed of six compone nts.  The Business Management and Human 
Resource Development component (Annex 2, paragraph 2(c)) facilitates organizational 
development, sound business management a nd planning to address an organization’s 
marketing, human resource, production and fi nancial issues and promote growth in the 
broader agriculture and food industry.   Eligible  activities include contracted training costs for 
extension teams in areas of counselling, communi cations, team building, technical skills and 
registration costs (non university courses only) ; services to develop business, marketing and 
feasibility plans and other special consultati on services; and the development of workshops, 
tools and educational materials related to  human resource and business development, 
including leadership and entrepreneurship. 
 
  The Market Development and Industry Expansion  component (Annex 2, paragraphs 2(d) and 
2(f)) provides for identification and developmen t of new markets for Nova Scotia agri-food 
products and services and for the development of education and informa tion projects that will 
enhance public awareness of the benefits of th e agriculture and food industry to the economic 
well-being of the province.  Eligible areas in clude: development of projects and project 
materials; consulting services; market research, analysis and planning; market information, communication, education and promotion; develo pment of new products, pilot runs and test  G/AG/N/CAN/73 
 Page 7 
 
 
  marketing; and, buyer awareness and trad e missions/fairs; partnering among agri-food 
businesses in an effort to expand markets fo r value-added Nova Scotia products; and 
cooperative activities that expand markets a nd joint venture business opportunities for 
combinations of Nova Scotia products.  
 
  The Regulatory Compliance, Food Safe ty and Occupational Health and Safety  component 
(Annex 2, paragraph 2(d)) assists agri-businesses to address food and safety compliance issues.  Eligible project activities may include  efforts to address Occupational Health and 
Safety Act (OH&S) requirements, Hazard Anal ysis at Critical Control Points (HACCP) and 
other food safety measures. All projects to address HACCP and other food safety measures 
must be supported by a qualified professional assessment based on licensing and legislated 
requirements. 
 
  The APF Food Safety and Quality Initiative
 (Annex 2, paragraph 2(e)) provides for 
assessments by the Nova Scotia Department of  Agriculture and Fisheries Food Safety staff 
regarding recognized food safety gui delines or provincial regulations.  
 
  The Specified Risk Materials (SRM) Handling preparedness (Annex 2, paragraph 2 (b)) 
initiative provides for an economically sustaina ble waste management strategy for slaughter 
house operators and other livestock commodities.  Eligible activities include: all activities 
related to conforming to SRM handling rules; sep arate containers for storage of SRM labelled 
to identify contents; and carts or wagons designe d to haul SRM from plant to disposal site. 
  All of these components conform with the genera l criteria under Annex 2, paragraph 1 of the 
Agreement on Agriculture and the policy specific criteria under various sub-components of Paragraph 2 (General Services).  The support is being provided through a publicly funded 
government program not involving transfers from consumers and does not have the effect of 
providing price support to producers.  Support is for pest and disease control; training; extension; inspection; or marketing and prom otion.  Expenditures do not involve direct 
payments to producers or processors. 
 
(4) Cost of measure:  
 
 The total cost of the program is $3.6 million.  
(5) Date of entry into effect:  
  May 2004 
 
(6) Period of application:  
 
 May 2004 to March 2008  (7) Products to principally benefit (if any individual product(s)):  
 
 Any product.   
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