Canada’s largest farm lobby has joined opposition MPs in opposing government content rules for the new Product of Canada labelling program that they say are too stringent.
Last week at its annual meeting, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture approved a resolution asking the government to lower to 85 from 98 percent the Canadian content required before a label can be used.
Christian Lacasse, president of Quebec’s l’Union des Producteurs Agricoles, which proposed the motion, said requiring that at least 98 percent of a food product be Canadian-grown means many products that are overwhelmingly Canadian cannot be labeled as such.
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“These rules are creating a lot of problems for the industry,” he said.
The resolution also insisted that the 85 percent be totally Canadian and that the government look at rules to govern use of other labels that identify Canada as the place where product was processed or packaged. There is a concern that these rules may confuse consumers.
The CFA request for lowering the content requirement reflects a recommendation last year from the opposition majority on the House of Commons agriculture committee. When the Conservative government implemented the regulation, however, it raised the level to 98 percent.
CFA delegates did not raise the Product of Canada issue when Ritz was at their convention Feb. 26, but the minister has in the past shown no inclination to back down.
In mid-February, he told the Commons agriculture committee that use of the Product of Canada label is a voluntary marketing tool. As for those who say the 98 percent rule could be violated by any product containing imported sugar, Ritz insisted there are ways around it.
“If they want to change to a Product of Canada labeling, there is sugar available in Canada that they can purchase,” he said.
“They can also use distilled maple syrup. They’d have to change their recipe somewhat, but I’m told that’s available to them as well.”
On the contentious issue of what should happen to farmer overpayments to the railways for grain movement, the convention supported a Keystone Agricultural Producers’ proposal that freight rates paid to the railways over the revenue cap should be invested in the Western Grains Research Foundation rather than returned to farmers.
Agricultural Producers’ Association of Saskatchewan delegates stood alone in voting against the resolution, preferring that the railways return the overpayment to farmers.
CFA delegates also approved resolutions calling on Ottawa to:
- Investigate pricing practices of farm input manufacturers.
- Develop a program to compensate farmers for the ecological benefits they provide for society.
- Create a tax credit to compensate farmers for efforts made to improve on-farm food safety practices.
- Develop a reimbursement program to compensate farmers for time spent filling out mandatory government forms.
