On the Election Trail: Food Processors Serve Up Election Issues

by
Steve Peters (on left), Kathleen Wynne, and Norm Beal

The Ontario economy no longer drives on four wheels.

That’s the message Steve Peters, executive director of the Alliance of Ontario Food Processors (AOFP) has for a new Ontario government that will be elected on June 12.

In this Ontario Election 2014 podcast, Peters and RealAgriculture.com’s Bernard Tobin discuss the state of the Ontario food and beverage manufacturing industry. The sector includes 3,000 processors that employ 125,000 people and has surpassed the auto sector in its contribution to Ontario’s economy. But the sector faces considerable challenges, including plant closures and steep energy costs.

In this interview, Peters, who served as Ontario’s agriculture minister from 2003 to 2005, discusses the issues the industry are putting on the table during the Ontario election campaign including the cost of power, access to investment capital, the need for food processing innovation, developing a talented workforce and simplifying and modernizing regulation.

To hear more audio interviews regarding agriculture issues in the upcoming Ontario election, click here to hear from the Grain Farmers of Ontario or here to hear from the Ontario Federation of Agriculture..

If you cannot see the embedded player, click here.

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