Trade in Canada’s agriculture sectors depend not only on having reliable products to take to market, and the capacity to get them there, but also on industry advocacy and the ability to lobby the government for the needs of each sector.
Stephen Heckbert, executive director of the Canadian Pork Council (CPC), says that their organization’s number one job is to advocate in Ottawa, which means that it’s important to be listening to the challenges that producers are facing with respect to certain governmental policies and their impact on the ability to be competitive.
In this interview with Heckbert and RealAgriculture’s Shaun Haney, they discuss the three key messages that the Canadian Pork Council has been working to bring to the attention of government policy makers.
Story continues below video.
African Swine Fever (ASF) makes the top of this list, and while those working in agriculture may think that government has heard the messaging around ASF, Heckbert reinforces the point that consistency in messaging is important to ensure that policy and the needs of producers are in line if a crisis hits.
Temporary foreign workers is on the CPC’s list as well. This has been a hot topic across the board and one of the areas that is showing the benefits of industry advocacy. “We think we’ve reached lawmakers, and that’s why you see, when they make these announcements, by and large there is a carve out for agriculture”, Heckbert says.
The third item on the list is based around trade and trade implications. With the potential for a USMCA/CUSMA renegotiation, ongoing concerns with the European market and hope to have access to new markets, such as Thailand, continued advocacy is necessary.
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS | All Podcasts
