Description
The Carney government's proposal to allow provincially-inspected meat to be sold across provincial borders is a bad idea, according to the Canadian Meat Council.
Proposed exemptions to the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations would allow interprovincial movement of meat from provincially-inspected facilities for up to four years where certain conditions exist, such as unmet slaughter capacity across a provincial border.
As it stands, meat must come from a federally-inspected facility to be sold in a different province. Where provincial meat plants usually have periodic inspections, federally-inspected facilities always have inspectors from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) on site, and have to follow different requirements for international trade.
In the interview above, Kyle Larkin, president and CEO of the council—which represents federally inspected meat packers and processors—says the government's proposal would jeopardize key international markets and undermine strict federal standards that maintain food safety.
Canada's reputation is highly valued by sensitive export markets such as Japan, South Korea, and China, he explains. "Any type of dilution or carve-out to that standard already raises questions."
As an example of what's at stake, Larkin notes China has already climbed to become Canada's second-largest beef export market after lifting its ban on Canadian beef earlier this year. Larkin says it is estimated China will take 50,000 tons of Canadian beef by the end of the year.
While the government's proposal aims to address regional slaughter capacity deficits along provincial borders, Larkin says in most cases, there are federal facilities in these target regions that have excess capacity.
"They say there's a lack of capacity in Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, the Ontario-Quebec border, Manitoba-Saskatchewan, and the BC-Alberta border, and I can tell you, for all five of those regions, there's actually overcapacity where there's meat processors that can certainly take on more meat," he says.
Lowering the standard for interprovincial trade could result in foreign meat suppliers demanding the same treatment under reciprocal trade agreements, Larkin notes.
In addition, Larkin says the four-year exemption goes beyond what should be considered "time limited," as the government describes the proposal.
"If you're in a relationship with someone for four years, you're probably already married. So I wouldn't consider that time-limited," he says.
Rather than creating regulatory exemptions, the CMC is urging Ottawa to assist provincially-inspected processors in meeting federal standards. The CFIA is currently piloting a "concierge service" with 34 provincial facilities to help them transition to a federal license. The CMC recommends expanding this program and providing seed funding to help local plants permanently upgrade their food safety operations, says Larkin.
"About 95 per cent of meat processed in Canada is federally licensed. Only about 5 per cent of meat processed is from provincially licensed facilities, and within that 5 per cent, it's really only about 5 per cent asking for these proposed amendments," he says. "So really we're talking about 0.5 per cent of the industry here in Canada, and going ahead and potentially risking the 99 per cent with not only domestic food safety, but also international market access."
The regulatory changes are up for public comment until August 26.
Check out the interview above for more with Larkin on interprovincial meat trade, as well as the government's move to update rules around specified risk materials (SRMs) when cattle are slaughtered, bringing Canada's rules in line with the U.S.
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