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Bringing the Message to Ontario’s MPPs: OCA Hosts 3rd
Annual Beef Barbecue at Queen’s Park
Toronto (June 7, 2006) —
If numbers are any indication, the Ontario Cattlemen’s
Association is pleased with the support it received at Queen’s Park this
week. The organization held its 3rd Annual beef barbecue on the front
lawn of the Main Legislative Building on Wednesday, and preliminary
figures indicate that almost 700 people attended – an increase of 200
over the previous year.
Prior to the barbecue, the OCA Board met with numerous
MPPs and their staff to reiterate that while the US border is open to
Under-Thirty-Month (UTM) cattle and beef products, the BSE crisis is
still ongoing as far as breeding stock and Over-Thirty-Month (OTM)
cattle are concerned. Those classes of product are still locked out of
the US market.
“We have just passed the 3rd anniversary of the
discovery BSE in the Canadian herd. We have come a long way since May
20th 2003, with our ability to ship live cattle and beef products under
thirty months of age to the US. However a significant part of our
industry is still negatively impacted by a closed border,” says Ian
McKillop, President of the Ontario Cattlemen’s Association. “It’s
crucial that we completely normalize trade with America as soon as
possible so that we can once again operate in a full-integrated North
American market. The BSE crisis will not be completely over until trade
for classes of cattle and beef products is fully restored. “
Although not unexpected, the Canadian cattle industry
also heard this week that R-CALF (the US protectionist group which
prolonged the original border closure) has filed an appeal against the
April 5, 2006 order denying their request for a permanent US border
closure to all classes of Canadian cattle. The appeal will be considered
by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the same court that reversed the
preliminary injunction order issued by Judge Cebull last year.
At the event, MPPs were treated to a demonstration of
how Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology is used to provide
animal tracking and trace-back for the Canadian cattle industry – a
crucial component of accessing some of Canada’s export markets.
During the barbecue, OCA President Ian McKillop and
Vice-President, Gord Hardy, were joined in slicing beef by: The
Honourable Leona Dombrowsky, Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and
Rural Affairs; John Tory, Conservative MPP and Leader of the Official
Opposition; and Howard Hampton, Ontario’s NDP Leader.
“We’re told that this event has quickly become one of
the most anticipated events at Queen’s Park,” concludes McKillop. “For
us, it’s a double-win. We can profile the Ontario Corn-Fed Beef program
and the delicious product it yields and we can also take the rare
opportunity of sitting down for half an hour with the people who have
the power to make the changes that can help our industry. The event is
especially effective in bringing the issues of beef farmers to the
attention of MPPs who may not necessarily come from rural ridings. It’s
a positive and proactive way of establishing relationships with both the
government, and the opposing parties.”
In the last normal year of trade for Ontario beef farmers, 2002, beef
was the second largest commodity in terms of annual farm gate receipts
with a value of approximately $1.2 billion. Beef exports from Ontario to
the U.S.A., in 2002, were valued at $354 million in live cattle and an
additional $292 million in beef product.
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For more information contact:
Ian McKillop, OCA President: (519) 868-4202
Lianne Appleby, OCA Communications Manager: (519) 824-0334
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