Regarding the Alberta Livestock and Meat Strategy…
May 2003 North American had its first positive domestic case of BSE after a downer cow tested positive in an Alberta provincially inspected plant. At that time, and afterwards as more BSE positives turned up in Alberta, there were calls that the country should be divided in some fashion into zones with Alberta the BSE positive zone and the rest of the country would still be BSE free. Suggestions included segregating the country at the Manitoba Ontario border but also there were suggestions that the lines should be drawn at Alberta’s borders. The rest of country would trade internationally while enjoying a BSE free status.
Those calls were quickly rejected as the country stood together and said this is our problem, we stand with Alberta for better or worse. Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes shouldered the burden of BSE with the rest of the country. As a country we worked together to see normalized trade resume with the United States as well as internationally into Japan, Mexico and a host of other countries.
Last June 6 our Alberta Ag Minister announced the new Alberta Livestock and Meat Strategy. Now that trade is reopening Alberta is seeking to create a competitive advantage. I would ask a competitive advantage over who? Saskatchewan and BC? Manitoba and Ontario? These are the provinces that stood by us when we were in our darkest hour. Rich Alberta is going to go it alone. Well, we never had to go it alone in May 2003.
No matter what you may think about more or less government involvement in the cattle industry or what should be left to the marketplace or what should be regulated by government, I think most would agree that the Alberta announcement of a provincial strategy without cooperation or consultation with the other provinces or the Canadian government or any consideration of the impacts of the Alberta announcement on our Canadian partners who stood by us at great cost to their own respective jurisdictions is simply not fair.
May 2003 North American had its first positive domestic case of BSE after a downer cow tested positive in an Alberta provincially inspected plant. At that time, and afterwards as more BSE positives turned up in Alberta, there were calls that the country should be divided in some fashion into zones with Alberta the BSE positive zone and the rest of the country would still be BSE free. Suggestions included segregating the country at the Manitoba Ontario border but also there were suggestions that the lines should be drawn at Alberta’s borders. The rest of country would trade internationally while enjoying a BSE free status.
Those calls were quickly rejected as the country stood together and said this is our problem, we stand with Alberta for better or worse. Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes shouldered the burden of BSE with the rest of the country. As a country we worked together to see normalized trade resume with the United States as well as internationally into Japan, Mexico and a host of other countries.
Last June 6 our Alberta Ag Minister announced the new Alberta Livestock and Meat Strategy. Now that trade is reopening Alberta is seeking to create a competitive advantage. I would ask a competitive advantage over who? Saskatchewan and BC? Manitoba and Ontario? These are the provinces that stood by us when we were in our darkest hour. Rich Alberta is going to go it alone. Well, we never had to go it alone in May 2003.
No matter what you may think about more or less government involvement in the cattle industry or what should be left to the marketplace or what should be regulated by government, I think most would agree that the Alberta announcement of a provincial strategy without cooperation or consultation with the other provinces or the Canadian government or any consideration of the impacts of the Alberta announcement on our Canadian partners who stood by us at great cost to their own respective jurisdictions is simply not fair.