REGINA — The Saskatchewan Cattle Association wants regulatory amendments regarding traceability stopped.
The organization issued a statement Feb. 25 saying proposed changes should not go ahead.
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It also called for “significant and immediate” reform of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and a voting seat on the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency board.
Chair Chad Ross said after several town hall meetings and lots of member feedback, the board issued the statement in response to what it heard.
He said the statement went to the provincial agriculture minister and to national beef organizations so they can lobby the federal government.
WHY IT MATTERS: The CFIA postponed introducing the planned amendments in early January after an outcry from producers who said movement reporting would be too onerous and expensive. The amendments had been developed with industry through the Cattle Implementation Plan.
The proposed amendments were to be published this spring, but after misinformation spread on social media, many producers thought they were already in place.
They were to be the next step in a full traceability system to help the industry through an animal disease outbreak or food safety incident by reporting cattle movement.
“We heard loud and clear from our producers that regulations is not something that they want, and so that is the direction that we took,” Ross said.
“Also, we heard loud and clear that they have lost trust in our regulatory body and that there needs to be significant reform within that before we can even entertain regulations.”
That reform includes putting CFIA back under the agriculture department’s jurisdiction rather than health.
Ross also said the CFIA must understand how cow-calf operations and commerce work. Producers must be incentivized, not criminalized, in investigations, he said.
“We have a lot of work to do as far as technology within our ability to trace animals easily, effectively and not be burdensome or costly to our producers until we get there,” said Ross.
The CCIA is owned by producers, and he said a voting seat is important to have influence on that board.
Other provinces could follow suit with their own statements, given the widespread concern about the amendments at the beginning of the year.
The CCA would not comment on the SCA’s position, although Ross said he had spoken with president Tyler Fulton.
