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Agriculture ministers finalizing framework

June 2, 2008  By Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada


agministersJune 2, 2008, Toronto, Ont. –
Federal, provincial, and territorial Ministers of Agriculture met in
Toronto May 29-30 to discuss Growing Forward, Canada's new policy
framework for the agriculture, agri-food and agri-based products
industry.

June 2, 2008, Toronto, Ont. – Federal, provincial, and territorial Ministers of Agriculture met in Toronto May 29-30 to discuss Growing Forward , Canada's new policy framework for the agriculture, agri-food and agri-based products industry.

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agministers
Federal and provincial ministers of Agriculture pose together in
Toronto following a meeting at which they
discussed Canada's agriculture and agri-food sector.
Photo courtesy of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

Ministers received an update on the latest round of national consultations on the Growing Forward framework that were held earlier in Winnipeg, and acknowledged the insightful engagement from the many who have participated to date in the consultation process that has and will continue to shape Growing Forward.
 
Building on the business risk management suite implemented in April 2008, Ministers made significant progress on the Growing Forward framework, which supports the vision of a competitive and innovative sector that responds to society’s priorities and proactively manages risk.
 
Ministers agreed to seek the necessary authorities to finalize the multilateral framework agreement for signature at their July annual meeting.
 
Ministers agreed to continue advocating strongly Canada’s opposition to the recently enacted U.S. country of origin labelling requirements, and to examine all options available to defend Canada’s interests. They agreed to hold further discussions at their July meeting.
 
Ministers have been requested to report to the Council of Federation in July on a revised scope and coverage of the Agricultural and Food Goods, Chapter Nine, of the Agreement on Internal Trade . Ministers made significant progress on this revision that would further liberalize internal trade while protecting the core functions of supply management and regulated marketing. The proposal will be shared with the agriculture sector prior to the July meeting.
 
Ministers also reviewed the status of the World Trade Organization (WTO) agriculture negotiations, and took stock of ongoing efforts to advance these negotiations. Ministers re-affirmed their strong support for Canada's efforts to seek an ambitious result at the Doha round for the benefit of Canada's entire agriculture sector, including both export-oriented and supply-managed industries.
 
Ministers welcomed an update on the proposed guidelines for voluntary labelling of “Product of Canada” and “Made in Canada.“ These guidelines will redefine Canadian food content labels to better reflect the origins of products in today’s global marketplace.
 
The Annual Meeting of Agriculture Ministers will be held in Quebec City July 8-11.
 


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