WHEREAS efforts by the federal and provincial governments to open the Canada-US border to Canadian beef have been partially successful to date and are an important part of returning the cattle industry to sustainability; AND WHEREAS in order to achieve true industry sustainability, the cattle industry must end its reliance on the US market and processing capability: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of BC Municipalities lobby the provincial government to facilitate development of British Columbia and Canadian processing capability as well as overseas markets for the cattle industry.
Ministry of Agriculture and Lands Both the federal and provincial governments have worked with industry to enhance domestic slaughter capacity. This cooperation, plus strong market returns for the processing sector, has led to a major expansion in Canadian slaughter capacity. It is estimated that a balance between domestic production and slaughter capacity will be reached in the next 12 to 18 months. The majority of this expansion has been in finished cattle capacity and there is still some shortfall in non-fed capacity i.e. cows and bulls. This shortfall will be addressed through the expansion of small local-owned abattoirs in British Columbia. The Meat Industry Expansion Strategy is helping to move this local expansion forward.