Conference of Federal-Provincial-Territorial Ministers of Agriculture

Toronto, Ontario | May 30, 2008

Federal, provincial, and territorial Ministers of Agriculture met in Toronto, May 29-30, to discuss the multilateral agreement on Growing Forward, Canada's new policy framework for the agriculture, agri-food and agri-based products industry.

Ministers received an update on the latest round of national consultations on the Growing Forward framework that were held earlier this week in Winnipeg, and acknowledged the insightful engagement from the many who have participated to date in the consultation process that has and will continue to shape Growing Forward.

Building on the business risk management suite implemented in April 2008, Ministers made significant progress on the Growing Forward framework which supports the vision of a competitive and innovative sector that responds to society’s priorities and proactively manages risk. The Growing Forward framework will position all parts of the sector, including new and young farmers, to succeed in a rapidly changing agriculture and agri-food environment. Flexibility is an important element of this framework which enables Governments to offer farmers and other agri-food businesses programs designed to meet industry needs.

Ministers agreed to seek the necessary authorities to finalize the multilateral framework agreement for signature at their July annual meeting.

Ministers discussed the difficult challenges facing the livestock industry and heard from industry leaders. Building on actions already taken, Ministers stressed the need for joint industry and government action in the areas of innovation, regulatory streamlining and market access to seize opportunities.

Ministers acknowledged signs of price recovery and remain committed to ongoing engagement with the hog and cattle sectors to ensure support mechanisms are working.

Ministers agreed to continue advocating strongly Canada’s opposition to the recently enacted U.S. country of origin labelling requirements, and to examine all options available to defend Canada’s interests. They agreed to hold further discussions at their July meeting.

Ministers have been requested to report to the Council of Federation in July on a revised scope and coverage of the Agricultural and Food Goods, Chapter Nine, of the Agreement on Internal Trade. Ministers made significant progress on this revision that would further liberalize internal trade while protecting the core functions of supply management and regulated marketing. The proposal will be shared with the agriculture sector prior to the July meeting.

Ministers also reviewed the status of the World Trade Organization (WTO) agriculture negotiations, and took stock of ongoing efforts to advance these negotiations. Ministers re-affirmed their strong support for Canada's efforts to seek an ambitious result at the Doha round for the benefit of Canada's entire agriculture sector, including both export-oriented and supply-managed industries.

Ministers welcomed an update on the proposed guidelines for voluntary labelling of “Product of Canada” and “Made in Canada.” These guidelines will redefine Canadian food content labels to better reflect the origins of products in today’s global marketplace.

The Annual Meeting of Agriculture Ministers will be held in Quebec City July 8-11.

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Please refer to http://www.agr.gc.ca.