Canadian Cattle Association welcomes Budget 2023 investment in animal health emergency preparedness
March 28, 2023
Ottawa, ON – The Canadian Cattle Association (CCA) welcomes today’s announcement by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland of the proposed creation of a Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) vaccine bank with an investment of $57.5 million over five years to develop emergency response plans and establish the vaccine bank.
With the threat of FMD remaining high given the recent outbreaks in Asian and African markets, the establishment of this vaccine bank is critical and helps provide necessary insurance to protect Canada’s export markets.
“While we hope this vaccine bank is never needed, we are grateful for today’s investment and its establishment,” said Nathan Phinney, CCA President. “We appreciate the Government listening to our concerns and understanding the critical need to put in place emergency preparedness plans to control the spread of the disease and protect our export markets for Canadian beef.”
CCA supports the increased limit to interest-free loans under the Advance Payments Program from $250,000 to $350,000 for the 2023 program year, of which, beef producers across the country continue to benefit from.
CCA was also pleased to see a commitment towards the recovery of species at risk, with $184 million over three years being allocated towards strengthening the Species At Risk Act. We will be engaging with the Government of Canada to ensure beef producers are at the table as key stewards of lands where species at risk live.
“Canadian beef producers are proud stewards of the environment, from protecting species at risk and biodiversity, conserving Canada’s endangered native grasslands, while sequestering carbon,” shared Phinney. “As the Government of Canada continues to look at climate change, biodiversity, and other green spending measures, we urge them to include support for protecting Canada’s grasslands in the future.”
CCA looks forward to future discussions with the federal government to look at how Canadian beef cattle producers can take advantage of today’s announced budget.
For further information, contact:
Michelle McMullen
Communications Manager
Canadian Cattle Association
403-451-0931| mcmullenm@cattle.ca
For a PDF of the news release, click here.