Manitoba Pork Calls on Federal Government to Take Action to Improve Regulatory Competitiveness – Swineweb.com

Farmscape as of July 9, 2024

Manitoba Pork CEO calls on the federal government to take action to improve the regulatory competitiveness of Canadian agriculture both domestically and internationally. The article, distributed in Manitoba community newspapers and posted on the Manitoba Pork website, addresses “regulatory competitiveness.” Manitoba Pork CEO Cam Dahl acknowledges that while some regulations, such as those related to food safety, are necessary, regulations always come at a cost.

Quote-Cam Dahl-Manitoba Pork:
We compete in an international marketplace, so when we find that the regulations that apply to Canadian agriculture, and we’re talking about hog production today, so when the regulations or the cost of regulations that apply to Canadian agriculture are higher than in other countries like the United States or Brazil, that means that Canadian farmers are less competitive in the international marketplace, and that obviously hurts the bottom line for producers here at home. That leaves less money to invest in the industry and it provides fewer jobs. One of the most cited examples is the carbon tax.

It’s a regulation or legislation that puts a tax on Canadian farmers that doesn’t exist in other countries, so it’s becoming more expensive to heat and cool barns here in Canada and in Manitoba, and that makes us less competitive. So we have to find a way to balance between putting regulations in place to meet food safety or employee safety requirements, and not just putting regulations in place for the sake of regulation and imposing additional costs on Canadian farmers.

Dahl notes that governments around the world are taking action to restrict the flow of Canadian agricultural products, such as the U.S.’s voluntary domestic labeling and European regulations restricting the export of Canadian red meat. He calls on the Canadian government to do everything it can to counter foreign regulations that undermine the competitiveness of Canadian farmers.

For more information, visit Farmscape.Ca. Bruce Cochrane.

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