Interoperability legislation – a win for common sense

Many farmers are probably unaware of the legislation regarding the interoperability of equipment, but it’s a rare example of parliamentarians coming together to support a good cause.

In simple terms, interoperability refers to the ability of short line equipment manufacturers to have their products work on mainline machines. The issue came to a head with John Deere’s big X9 combines. Due to digital locks, also called technology protection measures, straight cut headers from short line manufacturers such as MacDon Industries in Winnipeg and Honey Bee Manufacturing of Frontier, SK would not work on the X9.

Carlo Dade of the Canada West Foundation helped advance the issue in Ottawa and he was asked about the process when he spoke to the recent Crossroads Crop Conference in Calgary. Dade explained how Saskatchewan Conservative MP Jeremy Patzer from Cypress Hills – Grasslands introduced a private member’s bill aimed at ensuring major manufacturers couldn’t block short line attachments.

A great deal of work was required in Ottawa to explain the issue. Imagine talking to urban MPs that scarcely know what a combine does, let alone understanding that different headers can be attached to the front of these expensive machines.

What looked like an impossible uphill battle turned out having unanimous support in the House of Commons. Dade says Bill C-294 was delayed only because the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois both wanted to have time to speak in favour of the bill.

Media tends to concentrate on controversy. When MPs agree, it doesn’t make a lot of news. On top of that, interoperability isn’t an issue that mainstream media and the general public would easily understand.

The bill is now making its way through the Senate and Dade says farmers and farm groups should keep talking to politicians and asking about the bill so it gets passed as expeditiously as possible. The Senate has a lot of bills to deal with, many with wide-ranging ramifications and it would be a shame to see the interoperability bill lose momentum.

It should also be noted that the interoperability legislation extends far beyond farm equipment.

Private member’s bills typically get bogged down due to lack of support. The bill to exempt natural gas and propane from GST when used for grain drying, barns and greenhouses has become a political football. Dade predicts that another private member’s bill on right to repair will never end up passing. That makes the bill on interoperability an even bigger success story.

Bill C-294 has moved forward because it makes good sense and a lot of work was done to explain the need. It’s really just a change to Canadian copyright similar to what already exists in the U.S.

For obvious reasons, it’s a huge issue for short line equipment manufacturers and that extends to the workers and the communities where short line manufacturing occurs.

And it’s an important issue for farmers. Not many of us have X9 combines, but if the trend was to continue, farmer choice could be severely limited. Rather than a range of headers for combines and swathers, we would have been locked into the choices dictated by mainline manufacturers whether that be John Deere, AGCO, Case IH or New Holland. The same problem could have appeared in many other types of equipment as well.

In this world where every issue seems divisive and political partisanship is rampant, it’s good to know that common sense can prevail among our elected officials.