Registration - In-house Organization

Subject Matters

• Agriculture
• Consumer Issues
• Employment and Training
• Health
• Industry
• Infrastructure
• International Trade
• Labour
• Taxation and Finance

Subject Matter Details

Legislative Proposal, Bill or Resolution

• Canada-EU: the Canadian Meat Council is providing input into a proposed Free Trade Agreement between Canada and the European Union at the request of the Federal Government
• Food and Drugs Act: the Canadian Meat Council is advocating for an ammendment to the Act to allow for the immediate approval in Canada of all antimicrobial agents currently approved by European Union and by the U.S. Food and Drugs Administration.
• World Trade Organization Doha Round Negotiations: the Canadian Meat Council supports an ambitious trade deal at the World Trade Organization to gain better access to important export markets. We need a significant reduction in import tariffs, the elimination of export subsidies and greatly reduced domestic support that distorts pricing and international markets.

Legislative Proposal, Bill or Resolution, Policies or Program, Regulation

• Canadian Food Inspection Agency Fees and the User Fees Act: The Canadian Meat Council is a member of the CFIA Working Group on User Fees. We are requesting that the CFIA fee structure be reviewed and that service standards be established as required by the User Fees Act.
• Veterinary Signature on Meat Export Certificates: the Canadian Meat Council is advocating for an ammendment to the Meat Inspection Act and Regulations to remove the strict requirement for a veterinarian’s signature on health certificates for export of meat and poultry - especially for trade in meat between Canada and the USA. The signature of the official Canadian Food Inspection Agency meat Inspector should be sufficient.

Legislative Proposal, Bill or Resolution, Regulation

• Interprovincial Meat Trade Pilot Project:the Canadian Meat Council is advocating that all meat processed in Canada should be inspected by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency under the Meat Inspection Act and Regulations.

Policies or Program

• Abattoir Competitiveness Program: the Canadian Meat Council is requesting an extension of the Abattoir Competitiveness Program until such time as the Specified Risk Material Regulations are equivalent with the USA
• Food Safety Tax Credit: the Canadian Meat Council is advocating for the creation of a new Food Safety Tax Credit based on eligible expenses for Canada’s food processing industry for a safer food supply for Canadians.
• Manual of Procedures: The Canadian Meat Council is requesting the removal of the Meat Cuts Manual from the Meat Hygiene Manual of Procedures and the immediate ceasing of its strict enforcement.
• Manual of Procedures: the Canadian Meat Council is requesting that the Government update policies on animal transportation and welfare issues- Chapter 12 of the Meat Hygiene Manual of Procedures.
• National Farmed Animal Health Strategy: the Canadian Meat Council requests that the Government of Canada fully fund the monitoring of animal movement at the Manitoba-Ontario border at a test site called “West Hawk Lake”.
• Product of Canada Guidelines: the Canadian Meat Council supports a review of the Product of Canada Guidelines with regard to labelling of meat products. Specifically we seek an ammendment to the restrictive interpretive Q&As developed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency on the what defines elgibility of live animals for meat products when using the term Product of Canada labels.
• Veterinary Import Policy: Animal Health Risk Assessment: the Canadian Meat Council has requested an updated risk assessment on the importation of live American hogs for slaughter in Canada.

Policies or Program, Regulation

• Sodium Reduction Strategy: the Canadian Meat Counci is a member of the Health Canada Working Group on Sodium Reduction. We support the full adoption by the Government of Canada of the July 2010 recommendations in the Sodium Reduction Strategy Report.

Regulation

• Biofuels Regulations: the Canadian Meat Council is advocating for government policies that promote the use of non-feed grain inputs for ethanol (such as cellulose) and bio fuels and that provide opportunities to convert animal by-products into biofuels, energy, and electricity.
• Food and Drug Regulations: the Canadian Meat Council is advocating for the approval of new regulations to extend the use of food irradiation in Canada to include ground beef, poultry, and beef carcasses.
• Health Canada Own Use Drug Provision: the Canadian Meat Council supports the introduction of amendments to the Food and Drug Regulations to restrict personal use importation of unapproved veterinary drugs intended to be administered to food-producing animals.
• Listeria Control Policy: the Canadian Meat Council is advocating for more flexibility in the Listeria control policy to allow for less mandatory testing of ready-to-eat meat products that do not support the growth of Listeria such as pepperoni and salami. We have also asked for clarity on qualifying for less mandatory testing through the addition of antimicrobials or a post packaging processing like High Pressure Processing. In addition we seek approval in Canada of all rapid assay testing methods that are permitted for use in the United States.
• Meat Inspection Regulations: the Canadian Meat Council has requested an ammendment to Meat Inspection Regulation 110 the mandatory pre-market label approval for meat products. The compulsory premarket registration of labels used by Canadian meat products is another example of additional regulatory burden imposed on meat processors that is not faced by complete sectors of our grocery supplies, such as bakery goods, dairy, cereals and spices. Despite the $100 fee, there are no service standards for the approval of labels, which can take six to eight weeks, an important delay when bringing a new product to market. This lack of a service standard for label registration most likely also contravenes the federal User Fees Act.
• Meat Inspection Regulations: the Canadian Meat Council has requested an ammendment to Meat Inspection Regulation 92 the premarket registration process for food packaging materials used by federally registered establishments. The safety of all materials used for packaging foods is already controlled under Division 23 of Part B of the Food and Drug Regulations.
• Meat Inspection Regulations: the Canadian Meat Council has requested that the Government of Canada have more retail inspection of pre-packaged imported meat products to ensure that the proper "Product of..." declaration is present. In addition, many imported prepackaged meat products do not meet current Canadian labelling regulations such as mandatory bilingual labels, use of only approved ingredients and the Canadian Nutrition Facts panel.
• Meat Inspection Regulations: the Canadian Meat Council is seeking an ammendment to Meat Inspection Regulation 94 to require federally registered meat processors to include their establishment number and the meat inspection legend on all packaged meat in a bulk container.

Communication Techniques

• Written communication
• Oral communication

Government Institutions

• Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC)
• Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)
• Finance Canada (FIN)
• Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (DFAITC)
• Health Canada (HC)
• House of Commons
• Industry Canada
• Prime Minister's Office (PMO)
• Privy Council Office (PCO)
• Senate of Canada
• Treasury Board Of Canada Secretariat (TBS)

Address:
1545 Carling Avenue
Suite 407
Ottawa, ON  K1Z 8P9
Canada

Telephone number: 613-729-3911
Fax number: 613-729-4997