Grain standards advisory committees
In 2001, the Canadian Grain Commission created 4 sub-committees reporting to the Western Standards Committee to serve at the pleasure of the Canadian Grain Commission. In 2022, the sub-committees were re-named to the grain standards advisory committees and included representation from eastern Canada and western Canada. The advisory committees serve their purpose in bringing forward commodity concerns related to the grading system and facilitating input from all grain industry stakeholders in order to provide advice and formulate recommendations to both the eastern and western grain standards committees.
The grain sector has evolved, including changes to marketing freedom and the creation of new organizations within the grain industry. As a result of this evolution, it became necessary to re-evaluate the composition and membership of the advisory committees to further improve their efficiencies and effectiveness to ensure that any grading system changes reflect the interests and concerns of all parts of the Canadian grain sector.
Role and activities of the grain standards advisory committees
Each crop type has unique grading issues. Where do the standards committees get information about grading issues for specific types of crops? From their advisory committees.
Each advisory committee:
- studies issues about its specific crops
- advises the standards committees about crop-related concerns
- brings forward concerns about the grading system from the point of view of specific crops
- helps to get input from all affected stakeholders