No new poultry market access to Canada, ag minister says

Canadian Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Marie-Claude Bibeau has committed to making sure that countries that do not currently export poultry to Canada will not be given such access in future trade deals.

Canadian Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada)
Canadian Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada)

Canadian Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Marie-Claude Bibeau has committed to making sure that countries that do not currently export poultry to Canada will not be given such access in future trade deals.

Bibeau, who succeeded Lawrence MacAulay as the country’s agriculture minister on March 1, recently met with representatives of Chicken Farmers of Canada (CFC) and Chicken Farmers of Ontario (CFO) to discuss ideas and priorities for strengthening the agriculture industry. Prior to becoming the agriculture minister, Bibeau was Canada’s minister of international development.

“CFO applauds the Canadian government for the ongoing support for responsible supply management, and for working with industry to support growing local business and creating jobs in Canadian communities,” Tim Klompmaker, CFO board director and executive member of CFC, said in a press release. “Chicken farmers are pleased that Minister Bibeau is committed to ensuring no new access to the Canadian market is granted in future trade deals. Allowing more imports would serve only to weaken the import control pillar of our responsible supply management system – a system that has worked well for Canadians for over 50 years.”

Rob Dougans, president and CEO of CFO, added: “Our farm families that receive unsubsidized fair farm prices under Canada’s supply management system are looking for commitment to strategies that fairly support farmers and maintain our successful supply managed systems. CFO thanks both the federal and provincial government for the ongoing commitment to supply management and will continue to collaborate to ensure Ontario’s chicken industry remains strong, stable and growing.”

Group to discuss impact of trade deals

CFO, which represents more than 1,300 family farms, is also participating in working group, led by the federal government and including stakeholders from the poultry and egg sectors, to discuss the impacts of the recent United States-Mexico-Canada-Agreement (USMCA) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

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