The Government of Canada’s fall economic statement for 2024 is encouraging, the Canadian Pork Council (CPC) said in a statement on Wednesday.
“The government’s engagement to reduce the risk of African Swine Fever (ASF) entering the country has always been strong, and we appreciate the ongoing commitment,” CPC chair Rene Roy said in a statement, “but in other areas of agriculture, this government continues to take farmers, and pork producers, for granted.”
The government’s recent announcement related to feed assistance in western Canada, for example, did not extend to pork producers, Roy pointed out.
“We applaud the government’s recognition that drought conditions increase feed costs for producers, but it obviously increases feed costs for both cattle and pork producers, so we’d welcome an extension of those programs to ensure all animal production is included,” Roy said.
Still, Roy said the ASF funding introduced in 2022 has been crucial for the industry to maintain its food security and global competitiveness. Project support for biosecurity assessments and improvements, wild pig management, the retrofit of existing abattoirs, sector analysis and ASF-related research projects has been important to advance the industry, Roy said. CPC is excited to continue this work in collaboration with government.
Pork producers are urging government to ensure bill C-234 passes the Senate.
“Given the government’s recognition that carbon taxes have made home heating more expensive, passing C-234 will have an even broader impact on grocery prices – every dollar more a farmer has to pay for heating their barns is an extra dollar Canadians have to pay for their milk, their eggs, or their bacon at the grocery store,” Roy said. “Passing C-234 is an easy well to tell Canadians they have been heard on the question of food inflation.”
