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New Deputy
Minister appointed
In May 2004, Prime Minister Paul
Martin appointed Mr. Leonard J. Edwards Deputy
Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, effective May
10, 2004.
Mr. Edwards was Deputy Minister for International Trade from
June 2001 to May 2004. In this role, Mr. Edwards was also
a Director of Export Development Canada and the Commissioner
of the Northern Pipeline Agency. Mr. Edwards joined the Department
of External Affairs in 1969.
From 1998 to 2001, Mr. Edwards was Canada's Ambassador to
Japan. He also served as Ambassador to the Republic of Korea
from 1991-1994. Within the Department of Foreign Affairs and
International Trade, Mr. Edwards has held the positions of
Assistant Deputy Minister for Trade and Economic Policy and
Assistant Deputy Minister, Asia Pacific. He also served as
Executive Director, Summits Management Office, with responsibility
for the organization of the 1988 and 1995 Economic Summits
and the 1987 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
His overseas assignments have included Saigon (now Ho Chi
Minh City), Hanoi, Ankara, Brussels/NATO and the Canadian
Mission to the United Nations at Geneva.
Council Business
Michel Veillette Re-appointed as
Council Member
Minister Bob Speller has
re-appointed Michel Veillette as a Member of the Council
until 2008. Mr. Veillette, of Cap-de-la-Madeleine, Quebec,
has been a Council member since 1998. His hard work and experience
in the dairy manufacturing and distribution business brings
a wealth of expertise to the Council table. Chair Cynthia
Currie said: "We are pleased to have Michel back
on board, he is a great contributor and I am very pleased
with his re-appointment."
Council Meeting of May 10, 2004
Council met in Ottawa on May
10, 2004. The agenda included discussion of current business
of the four poultry and egg marketing agencies and the beef
promotion research agency, an update on the Avian Influenza
situation, a review of the Egg Complaint Hearing Report, and
a review of quota orders submitted by the chicken and turkey
agencies. More details on the last three items follow:
Egg Complaint Report Made Public
At the Council meeting on May 10, 2004, the Complaints Committee,
made up of Council Chair Cynthia Currie, and Members
Anne Chong Hill and Maurice Giguère,
presented its final report to the Council. Council has received
and discussed the report of the Complaints Committee and fully
supports the Committee's findings and recommendations.
All Council members were provided with copies of the submissions
by the participants and interveners. Transcripts of the Complaint
Hearings were made available to those Council members who
were not part of the Committee. The report has been mailed
to all signatories to the Egg Plan, and will be available
on the Council's web site in the near future. For further
information, please contact Carola McWade at (613)
995-6752.
Chicken Quota Order
The Council concluded it was not satisfied that the proposed
A-59 provincial allocations and the supporting rationale adequately
reflected the impact of AI on the Canadian industry. Therefore,
Council was unable to prior-approve this order.
Council asked that CFC provide a quota order for A-59 with
updated provincial allocations that reflect what other provinces
have agreed to grow to meet BC market requirements. In addition,
Council asked that an action plan be provided demonstrating
how chicken supply will be managed during this and future
periods.
Turkey Quota Order
The BC signatories recently confirmed that, while discussions
are ongoing at CTMA with regard to revisions to the allocation
methodology, their complaint, filed on December 17, 2003,
is still active. As there is still a complaint before Council,
Council was unable to consider the prior approval of the Amendment
to the Canadian Turkey Marketing Regulations - 1990 - Preliminary
2004-2005. Council has offered to meet with BC representatives
to discuss the matter and to assist them in determining what
steps might next be taken to help resolve the issues.
Forum on Grocery and Food Service
Trends a Great Success
Participants at the Forum
on Grocery and Food Service Trends were treated to an
interesting and educational event. Many expressed their satisfaction
with the program and their appreciation to Council for convening
it.
At a breakfast on May 11, Gordon Butland of Rabobank International
presented a global poultry industry update. He described how
the poultry industry must work together from inputs through
to retailers and food service outlets to ensure that consumers
are confident in the safety and healthiness of poultry products.
He noted the impact of changes in world population and income
levels on future trade.
That evening, the Forum on Grocery and Food Service Trends
began with a dinner reception. Allan Gregg, Chairman
of The Strategic Counsel, was the keynote speaker. The Strategic
Counsel is one of the fastest-growing research firms in North
America. The firm has gained a reputation for accurate, innovative,
client-focused market research that gets results. Mr. Gregg
gave an interesting and informative presentation on trends
in Canadian public opinion and their implications for the
future. He noted that the concerns preoccupying the public
today are more multi-layered, less focused and more difficult
to manage than in the past. He introduced the concept of "joyless
prosperity" – noting that while the economic situation
has been positive in recent years, the public continues to
have a generally pessimistic attitude about the future.
On the morning of May 12, the Forum reconvened with a panel
discussion. Panel members were Mr. Nick Jennery, Canadian
Council of Grocery Distributors, Mr. Craig Watson,
Sysco Corporation, and Mrs. Cora Mussely Tsouflidou,
Franchises Cora. The panelists discussed trends in the grocery,
food service distribution and restaurant businesses.
The luncheon speaker was Dr. David Bell, the George
Moffett Professor of Agriculture and Business at Harvard Business
School. He spoke about Integrated Value Chain Management in
Agribusiness. In the 21st century, there will be fewer distribution
channels. Suppliers will work with retailers in a partnership.
They will share information and profits. The supplier will
enjoy more security, will be able to invest in specialized
capabilities to serve the customer better, will have reduced
marketing costs, but greater customer loyalty, and will grow
as their customer grows. The future will see competition between
value chains, rather than between companies.
In the afternoon, group discussions allowed participants
to bring together their impressions of all of the material
presented and helped the group as a whole to synthesize an
overall picture of the current situation and trends for the
future.
A report will be prepared and distributed to Forum participants.
Watch for further information in upcoming issues of FOCUS.
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May 2004
Release of NFPC Annual Review
NFPC's 2003 Annual Review is
now available. It describes Council's busy and challenging
past year, reports on Year One of Council's Strategic Vision
and offers a look ahead to 2004's challenges and objectives.
It also provides an overview of the issues, activities and
accomplishments of the four national agencies and the promotion
research agency in 2003.
The Annual Review is being mailed to the national and provincial
agencies, processor and further processor associations, federal
and provincial governments and other industry stakeholders.
To request additional copies, please contact: Chantal Lafontaine
at (613) 995-9148, by email at lafontaine@agr.gc.ca
or by mail at: NFPC, 10th Floor, 344 Slater Street, Ottawa,
Ontario, K1R 7Y3. The report is also available on our website
at www.nfpc-cnpa.gc.ca.
Receiving FOCUS Electronically
Late last year we informed our
readers that we would offer our FOCUS newsletter electronically.
While we currently send out our newsletter via facsimile,
we are pleased to offer it electronically to all of our readers.
We will use a PDF file format. Our newsletter is also posted
on our website in both HTML and PDF format.
On our web site we offer a link to download a free version
of PDF reader. Visit our website at www.nfpc-cnpa.gc.ca. For
those interested in receiving FOCUS by email, please complete
the form below and send to:
Attn: Chantal Lafontaine
National Farm Products Council
344 Slater Street, 10th Floor
Ottawa, Ontario K1R 7Y3
Fax: (613) 995-2097
Tel: (613) 995-9148
lafontainec@agr.gc.ca
NAME:
TITLE:
ORGANIZATION:
EMAIL:
TELEPHONE:
Agency News
Industry Response to Avian Influenza
in BC
Since the announcement
on April 5, 2004 of the total depopulation of all poultry
farms in the Fraser Valley region of Southern BC, the industry
has been meeting to discuss what producers and processors
in the rest of Canada can do to help the BC industry. Several
approaches have been identified, including ramping up production
in other provinces in order to supply BC processors, producer-to-producer
assistance, and working with the Department of International
Trade to permit increased imports of US product. The industry
is working together to supply consumers in BC as fully as
possible in the present difficult situation.
CFC Sets A-60
On May 7, 2004 the Chicken Farmers
of Canada set the domestic market requirements for Period
A-60 at 140,501,452 kg eviscerated weight or 3.2% over base.
Promotion Research Agency
The Beef Agency met in Ottawa
on March 23, 2004. Items discussed included the Agency's financial
situation, the impact of BSE on the industry, and discussion
on the implementation of the national check-off. Council Executive
Director Terry Hayward addressed the Agency, and re-iterated
the Council's willingness to assist the Agency in operationalising
their program.
Industry News
Avian Influenza
On April 5, 2004, The Honourable
Bob Speller, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
and Minister responsible for the Canadian Food Inspection
Agency (CFIA), announced the depopulation of all commercial
poultry flocks and other backyard birds in the Control Area
established March 11 in British Columbia's Fraser Valley in
an effort to eradicate avian influenza. The decision was based
on the recommendation of the CFIA in consultation with the
province of British Columbia and the poultry industry.
As of May 12, the confirmed number of infected commercial
premises in the Control Area was 40. The number of infected
smaller premises, commonly known as backyard flocks, was 10.
There have been no new H7 infected premises identified since
April 29, 2004. Testing continues in the Control Area. To
date, more than 500 premises have tested negative for avian
influenza.
Depopulation of all premises within 1 km of an infected premises
has been completed and the depopulation of premises within
3 km of an infected premises is nearing completion. The depopulation
of backyard flocks continues. A total of 296 backyard flocks
have been depopulated. Cleaning and disinfection has begun
on 21 out of 40 infected commercial premises. Cleaning and
disinfection was completed on the first premises on Friday
May 7, 2004.
On May 13, CFIA announced that testing has revealed that
geese on a Fraser Valley farm were not infected with either
H5 or H7 avian influenza. There is strong evidence indicating
the geese were exposed to the H6 avian influenza virus. The
H6 virus is not associated with serious animal or human illness.
The flock was located within three kilometers of three known
infected premises and was targeted for depopulation as part
of the CFIA's avian influenza response. The regional depopulation
of animals in response to contagious diseases such as avian
influenza reflects internationally accepted animal disease
management strategies.
For up-to-date information, visit the CFIA web site at:
www.inspection.gc.ca
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