SASKATOON – Saskatchewan farmers will win some and lose some with the announcements of the reopening of one beef packing plant and the closing of another.
After two and a half years, the Western Canadian Beef Packing Plant in Moose Jaw began killing beef again this week.
The reopening was “not smooth,” said Doug Miller, general manager of the Moose Jaw plant.
The plant will be running slowly until the workers get back in shape to work on the slaughter line.
“It’s at a crawl,” he said.
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Maintenance workers have been working on the facilities for 10 weeks fixing boilers and repairing refrigeration units. The clean-up crew has been working for four weeks to get the plant “Ag Canada ready,” said Miller.
About 47 members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 226 are back at work after the lengthy strike over wages that closed the plant in 1992.
Miller estimates most of the 120 unionized staff will be recalled after the slaughtering plant is at full speed and the processing facility is reopened. Until then the beef will be sold in the United States, Alberta and Eastern Canada.
Since the packing plant shut down, the shape of the Canadian beef industry has changed. The giant American beef processing company IBP bought Lakeside Packers in Brooks, Alta. Between Cargill’s plant in High River and IBP, the two companies control almost the entire Canadian beef packing industry.
Miller said the Moose Jaw plant can’t compete directly with the big players, and instead plans to focus on niche markets.
“It’s pretty difficult to go toe-to-toe with the big American giants.”
Meanwhile Intercontinental Packers in Saskatoon announced it is closing its beef slaughtering line in Saskatoon April 1 because of the intense competition from the American companies, said Russ Baker, vice-president of manufacturing. Intercon will expand its private label products instead.
About 65 unionized workers will be temporarily laid off. The company is hoping to rehire the workers when sales of processed meat increase.
