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Minister Speller Addressed AAFC Staff
On Wednesday December 17, 2003, Minister Speller addressed the staff of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada at a reception at the Sir John Carling Building in Ottawa.
Minister Speller said: "Clearly, I am honoured and very pleased to be Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. I have a passionate interest in this, one of the most important sectors of the Canadian economy. I represent one of the most diverse agricultural regions in the country, was a member of and once chaired the House Standing Committee of Agriculture and chaired the Prime Minister's Task Force on Future Opportunities in Farming." Minister Speller went on to say, "As a member of the Committee and Chair of the Task Force, I have benefited greatly from the opportunity to travel the land and hear from literally hundreds of Canadian farmers, farm families and rural Canadians."
Minister Speller expressed his commitment to the future of agriculture, by concluding, "I want Canadians to know the difference the sector makes in their daily lives. And I want Canadians to take pride in Canadian agriculture and its tremendous accomplishments."
Council Business
Prior-approval of A-57 Allocation
At a January 9, 2004 teleconference, Council prior-approved CFC's allocation for period A-57 of 192,567,851 kg., live weight, (141,755,339 kg. eviscerated) for domestic production and 9,855,227 kg. live weight, (7,252,484 kg. eviscerated) for market development.
This allocation, for the period February 8 to April 3, 2004, was established at the CFC's open Board of Directors' meeting on November 25 and 26, 2003. Council members expressed concerns about the widely differing market requirements put forward by the various stakeholders, which have the potential to put the producer sector at odds with downstream players.
CFC’s A-58 Allocation
Chicken Farmers of Canada (CFC) set its allocation for period A-58 (April 4 to May 29) at an open Board of Directors meeting on January 14, 2004 in Ottawa. The total allocation of 204,437,536 kg. live weight (150,490,770 kg. eviscerated) is 3.4% above production for the same period last year.
On Thursday, January 22, Council received written notification from the CPEPC of a complaint against the A-58 quota allocation and the allocation setting process.
As per Council's Guidelines for Complaints, Council is reviewing the complaint to determine what course of action will be taken.
CEMA News
Complaint by the Saskatchewan Signatories
The Council will be conducting a hearing into the complaint by the Saskatchewan signatories with respect to the Canadian Egg Marketing Agency's proposed 2004 quota and levies orders. The hearing will commence at 9:00 a.m. on March 17, 2004 and continue the following day.
Complaint by the British Columbia Signatories
The Council will also be conducting a hearing into the complaint by the British Columbia signatories with respect to the Canadian Egg Marketing Agency's proposed 2004 quota order.
This hearing will be held on March 18, 2004, following the conclusion of the hearing of the Saskatchewan signatories complaint.
CTMA News
Complaint by the B. C. Signatories
On December 17, 2003, the British Columbia signatories to the turkey plan filed a notice of complaint with Council against the CTMA . The complaint argued that CTMA's allocation process was not market responsive and failed to comply with the provisions of the Proclamation.
Recognizing that the CTMA is currently reviewing its allocation methodology, Council strongly encouraged the CTMA to reconvene its members for the exclusive purpose of resolving B.C.'s concerns prior to Council holding a hearing. Council will be monitoring developments at CTMA and expects a progress report from them
by the end of February 2004.
CPEPC Complaint Hearing - March 9
As discussed in the last issue of Focus (December 19, 2003) Council has scheduled a hearing for March 9, 2004, based on a complaint filed by the Canadian Poultry and Egg Processors Council (CPEPC), regarding CFC's decision to reduce the co-efficient for leg quarters under its Market Development Program. The CFC Market Development Committee meeting, originally planned to take place in January, is now scheduled for February 19, 2004.
Update on May 2004 Food Industry Workshop
On May 11 and 12, 2004, Council will convene a gathering in Ottawa of poultry and egg producers and processors, provincial supervisory board staff and grocery and food service industry representatives. Participants will have the opportunity to hear presentations and have discussions on trends and developments in Canada's food retailing sector -- an important part of the poultry and egg value chain.
Watch future issues of Focus for more information on the agenda and speakers.
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January 2004
Ron O'Connor Re-appointed as Vice Chair
Minister Bob Speller has re-appointed Ron O'Connor as Vice Chair of the Council. Council Chair Cynthia Currie noted: "I look forward to the continued excellent working relationship I have had with Ron and to his significant contribution to both the Council and to the industry that we oversee."
Departure of Two Council Members
Council said au revoir to two of its members recently. Lorraine Arnett, of Durham Ontario, whose term expired in late November, had been a member since 1999. Mrs. Arnett's dedication and strong knowledge in finance, as well as broiler, cow calf and cash crops operations, will be missed.
We also said farewell to Michel Veillette, who has resigned from Council to re-enter politics. Mr. Veillette, of Cap-de-la-Madeleine Québec, had been a Council member since 1998. His hard work and experience as a parliamentarian and in the dairy manufacturing and distribution business brought a wealth of expertise to the Council table. We wish him all the best in his new political career.
Staff News
Keith Wilkinson has accepted a pre-retirement assignment at Council, where his main focus will be working with the marketing agencies and provincial supervisory boards in revising the outstanding Federal Provincial Agreements. Keith will also be working with Council staff to ensure that the corporate knowledge he has helped to establish over his long and productive career with Council is captured prior to his departure.
Jurgen Schiffer has accepted an acting appointment as Director of Domestic Policy and Programs Division, replacing Keith Wilkinson. In this role, Jurgen will guide the work of Council's commodity and statistical officers. In particular, Jurgen will continue the work started with industry and agriculture portfolio members in the area of markets information.
Portfolio Update
Saskatchewan Signs On To Agricultural Policy Framework (APF)
On December 22, 2003 Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Bob Speller and Saskatchewan Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Revitalization Clay Serby announced that Saskatchewan has signed an agreement to implement the APF.
"Saskatchewan is a key agricultural province and I welcome their participation in the APF," said Minister Speller. "This historic agreement reflects the commitment of governments to support producers and the agriculture and agri-food industry. It will give producers access to programs and services to strengthen the competitiveness of Saskatchewan agriculture."
"Saskatchewan is signing the APF because we were able to achieve a number of significant improvements over the previous safety net agreement," said Serby. "This is a significant financial commitment to help our agriculture industry respond to the opportunities and challenges that it will face in the future and I look forward to working with our new federal agriculture minister to improve the program further."
The APF implementation agreement will assist producers in managing their business risks through the new Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization (CAIS) program and an enhanced production insurance program. New APF programming in the areas of environment, food safety and quality, renewal and science and innovation is valued at $207.05 million over
five years.
Portfolio Co-ordination Secretariat
The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-food is responsible for a group of agriculture-related organizations within the federal government. This group is known collectively as the Agriculture and Agri-Food Portfolio. The Portfolio includes Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the Canadian Grain Commission, Farm Credit Canada, the Canadian Dairy Commission and the National Farm Products Council.
A Portfolio Co-ordination Secretariat was established in 2001 to help the Minister, Deputy Minister and Portfolio Heads strategically position agriculture within the government and to support the Minister's ability to answer for the agriculture portfolio on priorities, issues and emerging situations. The Secretariat is staffed by seconded employees from each of the portfolio organizations.
Industry News
US Rules on Kosher Chicken Anti-dumping Investigation
The US International Trade Commission announced on January 14, 2004 that it could not find any evidence that the US industry is being harmed by imports of kosher chicken from Canada, as was alleged in early December 2003 by Empire Kosher Poultry Incorporated of Pennsylvania. By a 5-to-1 vote, the commission determined that there is no reasonable indication that the US industry is materially injured or threatened with injury from imports of Canadian kosher chicken. This ends their anti-dumping investigation.
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