Another year is upon us. Ringing in a new year brings renewed optimism and a blank slate as we work to accomplish our goals for the year. It’s been a challenging couple of years with successive years of adverse weather and recovering from the impacts of the pandemic and yet I remain optimistic for the future. This optimism is fueled by the tremendous opportunities available to grow our exports of Canadian beef.
Last year, it was a privilege to represent Canadian cattle producers on two trade missions to Japan and Southeast Asia. These were eye-opening experiences that gave me an appreciation and understanding of the attributes that our current and potential buyers are looking for in a beef product.
All I can say is our product is sought after — and Canada is a trusted producer and supplier of beef for many countries in Southeast Asia.
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The demand is there for our product.
The challenge now is growing our cow herd to capture these opportunities and removing the barriers that can affect the entry of our product into export markets. My goal for this year is to look at how we can expand our herd — which has contracted due to the effects of adverse weather conditions. Of course, the easiest solution is for Mother Nature to co-operate, but that’s one factor we don’t have any control over. But, by coming together as an industry and working together, we can explore ways to overcome the challenges and support the rebuilding of our cow herd.
Advancing our advocacy work to improve the business risk management (BRM) program offerings for the cattle sector and making investments in building a strong next generation is a good place to start. We need to foster enthusiasm and harness the ideas of young producers around the decision-making table. This is a key element to make sure there is a vibrant industry that is sustainable in the long term.
With the return of Parliament for the winter session, it won’t be long until the 2024 federal budget will be tabled in the House of Commons. The Canadian Cattle Association (CCA) submitted our key recommendations during the pre-budget consultation process. Since then, we have shared our recommendations with parliamentarians. These recommendations include enhancements to BRM programs, including seeking an amendment to the livestock tax deferral provision in the Income Tax Act to give producers the ability to self-elect rather than rely on a geographic determination. We also recommend expanding the provision to include all classes of cattle, not just the breeding herd, and maintaining the interest-free portion of the advanced payments program at the current $350,000 level.
Another key factor that affects the ability of cattle producers to capture export opportunities is technical trade barriers. This is no surprise to many of us, as for years we have been unable to take full advantage of the market access promised with the ratification of the Comprehensive and Economic Trade Agreement with the European Union. This is a frustrating reality that is threatening to repeat itself as Canada works to negotiate a new trade agreement with the U.K.
Our message is simple. Canada needs to continue to push the importance of open trade principles and science-based policy. Decisions need to be based on science and not the politics of the day. The CCA board and staff invested a significant amount of time on this file in 2023 — especially after the U.K. accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) was announced. We will continue to share this message in 2024.
CCA has always been pro-trade. But, in this case, we couldn’t stand by as the strong and progressive trade rules accomplished in the CPTPP would be weakened by allowing the U.K. to join without addressing the barriers that are keeping Canadian beef out of the U.K. market. We would never say no to trade, but we have to say no to a bad deal that puts Canadian cattle producers at an unfair disadvantage. We are urging the Canadian government to delay ratifying the U.K. accession until these barriers are lifted.
If you have not done so already, I encourage you to share your concerns with your member of parliament by sending an email through the “Say No to a Bad Deal” campaign at saynotoabaddeal.ca. We need cattle producers from across Canada to keep amplifying this important message. Thank you to everyone who has already sent in their email. We can’t overcome this hurdle without you.
If that isn’t enough, we are also seeing a push domestically through a private members’ bill, Bill C-282: An Act to amend the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Act (supply management), that would take supply-managed sectors off the table during trade negotiations. This could severely damage our trade relationships and highly constrain Canada’s ability to launch, negotiate and renegotiate the best deals. At the bill’s core, it is not an agriculture bill, it is a trade bill that if passed, could affect all export-focused businesses, 65 per cent of Canada’s economy.
Our advocacy efforts will continue in 2024, to raise the volume on this issue, including sending letters, meeting with Senators, and co-operating with other relevant stakeholders to communicate the harmful effects of this bill. We encourage producers across the country to help get the word out on why trade is so important to our sector and what it means to you, your family and your local community. Please contact CCA at [email protected] if you’d like to help with our outreach efforts through social media or have any questions. Advocacy efforts are most effective when parliamentarians hear from producers directly.
There’s important work ahead of us in 2024 and we are committed to making things happen for our industry.
– Nathan Phinney is president of the Canadian Cattle Association.
