Conference of federal, provincial and territorial agriculture ministers - Diafiltered milk: Lower revenues for producers and higher prices for consumers

QUÉBEC CITY, July 22, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - Pierre Paradis, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, attended the annual conference of the federal, provincial and territorial ministers of agriculture held in Calgary on July 21 and 22. There, he took the opportunity to argue Québec's positions on the major issues addressed at the conference.

The Calgary declaration, a document that sets out the core federal-provincial-territorial priorities with a view to drafting the next agriculture policy framework slated for release in April 2018, was the subject of discussion and was approved by all the ministers.

During the conference, Mr. Paradis expressed his opinion primarily on the importance of preserving the integrity of supply management and on the need to maintain public trust in agri-food products and consumers' right to accurate and transparent information.

The Minister took advantage of the presence of Canadian Food Inspection Agency representatives asking them why the agency's definition of diafiltered milk does not match that given the term by Canada Border Services Agency. "I have trouble understanding why two federal government agencies can't manage to have the same definition for the same product. Milk producers in Québec and the rest of Canada are suffering due to the fact that nothing has been done about this issue for several months now and see their income decreasing drastically. Furthermore, come September 1, consumers will start to foot the bill for this federal inertia and will see the price of dairy products rise nationwide. Real and prompt action must be taken," said Minister Paradis.

It bears pointing out the Québec has its own news release because it feels that the joint federal-provincial-territorial one is incomplete, especially regarding the matter of diafiltered milk. "At a time when diafiltered milk is the Canadian agriculture issue of the hour, one that we have discussed several times, I find it unacceptable that the joint news release makes no mention of it at all," the Minister added.

To see the federal news release of the Canadian Dairy Commission (July 15, 2016): http://www.cdc-ccl.gc.ca/CDC/index-fra.php?id=3834

SOURCE Ministère de l'Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l'Alimentation

Office of the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Phone: [phone]