Canadian produce industry meets with Members of Parliament

Nov 29, 2016

Industry reps and MPs discussed labour and health issues

By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com

The Canadian Produce Marketing Association (CPMA) and Canadian Horticultural Council (CHC) recently met with Members of Parliament in Ottawa to discuss important issues impacting the country’s fresh fruit and vegetable sector.

CPMA addressed the need for a nationwide fruit and vegetable nutrition policy. According to the organization, Canada is falling behind in that regard.

“As the only G7 country without some form of national fruit and vegetable health/nutrition policy, we believe that it is time the federal government act to ensure that Canadians are consuming the recommended amount of servings as outlined in Canada’s Food Guide,” Sam Silvestro, chair, CPMA, said in a release.

With respect to labour, the organizations highlighted the importance of two programs.

“The focus was on the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program and their importance to the industry,” Latitia Scarr, manager, government relations, CPMA told Farms.com.

“Currently, the horticulture sector needs an extra 29,000 workers to function properly,” Keith Kuhl, president, CHC, said in the release. “The federal government needs to recognize that Canada’s agricultural industry relies on temporary foreign worker programs to get workers it can’t find in Canada, and that these programs need to improve.”

Attendees said the meetings acted as a way to reinforce the importance of the fruit and vegetable industry to Canadians.

“These meetings were a great way to start and, in some cases, continue conversations with key MPs and their staff,” Stéphanie Levasseur, owner, Au coeur de la pomme, and president, Les Producteurs de pommes du Québec, saod in an email to Farms.com. “They were very receptive to our input and recommendations. We just have to keep pushing forward to maintain this great momentum and hopefully get the policy changes we’re looking for.”

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.