Canadian Dairy Commission chair and veteran dairy processor executive Randy Williamson will be reappointed for a two-year term, agriculture minister Gerry Ritz announced yesterday.
His re-appointment takes effect Aug. 1.
Williamson has been on the CDC since 2007. This will be his third term.
He is the only dairy processor representative on the commission. Other members are chief executive officer Jacques Laforge, a longtime Dairy Farmers of Canada president, and Quebec dairy producer Gilles Martin.
“Under Mr. Williamson’s continued leadership, I’m certain the CDC will remain focused on working with its stakeholders to find innovative ways to build a strong, sustainable Canadian dairy industry for years to come,” Ritz said in a statement as he announced the re-appointment.
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The three-member board runs a crown corporation established in 1966 to oversee federal and provincial dairy policies, milk marketing and production quota arrangements.
It also sets annual support prices for butter and skim milk powder, which influence milk prices throughout the system.
In early May, the CDC helped organize a deal between dairy farmers and processors to create a new lower price class of milk that will be used to make mozzarella pizza cheese in Canada to compete with cheaper mozzarella cheese being imported from the United States in packages combined with pepperoni that avoid high import tariffs.
With dairy farmers holding two of three CDC seats, critics from the restaurant and food services industry have long complained that the commission is weighted to the needs of producers and not the industry.
However, the deal on lower-priced milk for mozzarella production led the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association to soften its judgment.
“This is a major step forward and out members are ecstatic,” CRFA president Garth Whyte said. “It really does show that if different parts of the industry work together, we can find solutions that benefit us all.”
And despite skepticism when dairy farmer leader Laforge was appointed CEO, Whyte said the two have been able to work together to move decisions beyond just dairy farmer interests.
