Alberta Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Devin Dreeshen, hosted a BBQ on the Alberta Legislature grounds in Edmonton on July 3 to show support for sectors affected by China’s trade barriers for our products, including pork, beef and canola.
Members of Alberta Pork’s Board of Directors and staff were on-hand for the event, along with directors and staff from Alberta Beef Producers and Alberta Canola, speaking with various Government of Alberta representatives, including more than two dozen Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs).
Alberta Pork thanks the minister for this expression of solidarity and anticipates continued dialogue and resolutions for issues concerning producers, processors, politicians and the public. We believe the agricultural commodities and value-added food products that come from Alberta and Canada are the safest and highest quality in the world.
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| Minister Dreeshen spoke to media during the BBQ and thanked his Legislative colleagues for their attendance, which was an important gesture for the commodity groups involved. |
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| Premier Jason Kenney delivered remarks and reinforced the government’s support for Alberta’s agri-food sector, which means working with colleagues provincially and federally to benefit Canadian producers and consumers. |
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| Dan Majeau, past Chair, Alberta Pork; Minister Dreeshen; and Darcy Fitzgerald, Executive Director, Alberta Pork, exchanged a few words on the state of our industry and why government support matters. |
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| Ian Moon, Western Canada Hog Procurement Manager, Olymel, and Board Director, Alberta Pork, talked about the challenges facing pork processors with Minister Dreeshen; Pat Rehn, MLA for Lesser Slave Lake; and Glenn van Dijken, MLA for Athabasca-Barrhead-Westlock.
Quebec-based Olymel operates our province’s largest processing facility in Red Deer, which has been affected by China’s restriction on Canadian pork imports. Mr. Van Dijken’s constituency is home to the greatest number of registered Alberta pork producers (73) in the province, and he is a former Board Director with the Western Hog Exchange. |
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| Jason Nixon, MLA for Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre; Nate Glubish, MLA for Strathcona-Sherwood Park; and Grant Hunter, MLA for Taber-Warner, were glad to see pulled pork, coleslaw and potato salad on the lunch menu. Together, these three MLAs represent 116 registered Alberta pork producers. |
