CANADA-BEEF COALITION CALL FOR CHANGE.
Canada’s Beef Industry Alliance, a coalition of beef producers from Alberta, is calling the provincial government’s new legislation for a refundable check-off for the beef industry "historic".
The new legislation allows producers to determine who will represent them, said Russ Pickett, B.I.A. chairman. "A refundable check-off is an enduring plebiscite that will mean that organizations will have to earn producers’ support every day," he added. "The governance structure that will result from this legislation will be more representative and empower all members of the beef value chain to work together towards a new business model for the beef industry in Alberta. This is an important step to repair some of the fractures that have developed in our industry."
This legislative change represents choice for producers, accountability for the industry and an exciting new direction forward, in which all members of the beef value chain will be represented in the industry governance system. Mr. Pickett said.
Necessary steps have been taken by George Groeneveld, Alberta Agriculture Minster, and the Government of Alberta to address the serious crisis facing the beef industry, proponents claim. The first step was introducing the Alberta Livestock and Meat Strategy. This most recent change to the governance system will bring the accountability and creative drive necessary to ensure that A.L.M.S. will be successful, they added.
In recent years, the Canadian beef industry has been at an impasse and the status quo was no longer an option for the country’s beef producers. Since the bovine spongiform encephalopathy crisis first hit that country, Alberta producers have been forced by legislation to pay more than $70 million in check-off levies to the Alberta Beef Producers. Canada’s first confirmed case of B.S.E. was in 1993 from a cow imported from Britain. In 2003, B.S.E. was identified in an Alberta cow. To date, there have been 15 cases of B.S.E. found in Canada, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Canadian beef producers charged there has been a failure to open up international markets or to address the concerns of producers. B.I.A. has been seeking to change the check-off system and working to modernize the industry by developing a new business plan for the industry.
"We believe that with this legislation, there is a real potential to bring all members of the beef supply chain together and build a better future for this industry", Mr. Pickett said. "The actions of the Government of Alberta [on April 28] represent the first step in that process towards a new business model for our industry."