BAC Members:
FBC-ABC Board of Directors Provides Leadership on Key Industry Issues
FBC-ABC’s Board of Directors met on December 2nd to review and provide direction on key issues impacting the food and beverage manufacturing sector. With companies reporting historic job vacancies, the Board reinforced the need for immediate action to address industry’s labour crisis and confirmed FBC-ABC taking a leadership role in coordinating a national government affairs and communications campaign focused on addressing industry’s immediate labour crisis through an Emergency Foreign Worker Program. The Board also reinforced the importance of food industry stakeholders advancing in their work to develop a Code of Conduct for the food industry.
FBC-ABC Emergency Labour Task Force
FBC-ABC continues to lead the work of the Emergency Labour Task Force that brings together Canada’s Provincial Food and Beverage Manufacturing Associations, CTAQ, Food and Beverage Ontario, BC Food & Beverage, Food & Beverage Manitoba, Food & Beverage Atlantic, as well as leading Product-based associations such as the Canadian Poultry and Egg Processors Council (CPEPC), the Canadian Meat Council (CMC) and the Bakery Association of Canada (BAC), as well as leading Canadian manufacturing firms. The Task Force has developed a proposal for an Emergency Foreign Worker Program in response to the immediate and severe labour crisis facing the sector and is developing a coordinated national government affairs and communications campaign to be launched next week. For questions, or to participate in the campaign please contact Kathleen Sullivan.
Code of Conduct
An industry Committee that includes FBC-ABC has been working since late September on development of a Code of Conduct for the food industry. This week, the Committee released a statement expressing their continued commitment to this work.
Canada’s ban on single-use plastic items delayed until 2022
According to a spokesperson for Environment and Climate Change Canada, draft regulations banning single-use plastics will be published in the coming weeks, followed by a period of time allotted for public comment, with regulations expected to be finalized in 2022. Once the final regulations are published, there will be a transition period for companies to comply with the ban before it actually takes effect. FBC-ABC will be monitoring for the draft regulations.
Prime Minister and Premier of BC announce new committee to address extreme weather and climate resilience in the province
Prime Minister Trudeau and BC Premier John Horgan have announced a committee of federal and provincial ministers who will work together and with Indigenous leadership to guide immediate and ongoing support to British Columbia families, businesses, and communities affected by the extreme weather events. BC Food & Beverage continues its leadership in supporting the BC industry through this crisis.
Government-Industry potato working group assembles to help affected farmers in PEI
The federal government is working with PEI and industry to support farmers following the recent suspension of certification of fresh potatoes from PEI to the United States. The newly formed Government-Industry Potato Working Group met on Wednesday, November 24 for initial discussions. The Minister of Agriculture attended the November 29 meeting of the group.
Government of Canada Releases ‘What We Heard’ Report on Temporary Foreign Worker Accommodations
The Government has released a report summarizing feedback from consultations on employer-provided accommodations in the agriculture sector to help guide further improvements to the TFW program. In response, the Government will begin developing in 2022, in consultation with provinces, territories and key stakeholders, proposed changes focused on addressing the most pressing health and safety concerns.