Pork Producers Encouraged to Engage with Federal Election Candidates

The Canadian Pork Council is calling on Canada’s pork producers to engage with candidates in the upcoming federal election

Canadian Pork Council representatives met with reporters yesterday via Zoom to outline pork sector priorities approaching the September 20th federal election.

CPC Chair Rick Bergmann calls on the government to partner with producers by defending and expanding market access, resolving trade barriers with China, fixing business risk management programs, enabling access to skilled workers and protecting the health of our swine herd.

“We are asking the government to work with producers to promote the environment by, number one, making concrete emission reductions“

“Governments need to protect the herd by committing 50 million dollars to implement the Pan-Canadian African Swine Fever Action Plan, establishing a Canadian Foot and Mouth vaccine bank.

“Canadian pork producers already have one of the lowest environmental footprints in the world and producers are doing more by continually adopting innovative ways of preserving resources and minimising the environmental impacts of their activities, also improving the productivity and the genetics of their hogs.

“We are asking the government to work with producers to promote the environment by, number one, making concrete emission reductions by partnering with producers to further improve the environmental sustainability of Canadian pork.

“Number two, exempting all farm fuels from the current carbon pricing system, which is impacting our competitiveness without really reducing emissions.

“Pork producers are calling on candidates to support the policies that I outlined today so producers can employ more Canadians, export more value and build better more resilient communities from coast to coast.”

Bergmann notes Canada’s pork producers contribute 23.8 billion dollars to Canada’s GDP, provide over 100 thousand jobs and export pork to over 100 countries while leaving one of the smallest environmental footprints in the world.