Beef Industry Promotes Solutions-Oriented Approach to Climate
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Volume 16 Issue 10 • October 17, 2016 CCA IS THE NATIONAL VOICE OF CANADA’S 68,500 BEEF FARMS Beef industry promotes solutions-oriented In This Issue... approach to climate change • Beef industry promotes solutions- Earlier this month Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada will set a minimum price for oriented approach to climate change carbon pollution of $10 per metric tonne in 2018, rising by $10 each year to $50 per tonne in 2022. The proposed measure is intended to assist Canada to meet its Paris Climate Agreement targets of reducing • Bill C-246, Modernizing Animal greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 17% below 2005 levels by 2020 and 30% below 2005 levels by Protections Act, defeated 2030. The plan will be reviewed in 2022 to ensure it remains relevant to meeting this target. • Hola Mexico! Canada officially announces expanded market access Many details of the tax are yet to be developed however Canada’s beef industry is well prepared for Canadian beef to engage in discussions. The National Beef Sustainability Assessment (http://crsb.ca/wp-content/ uploads/resources/NBSA_and_Strategy_summary_report_web1.pdf), a recent environmental, social • Global Conference on Sustainable and economic assessment of the Canadian beef industry completed by the Canadian Roundtable for Beef a success Sustainable Beef, helps to build a comprehensive understanding of the beef industry’s impact and contribution to rural communities, the environment and Canada’s economy. • Survey says: We want to hear from beef producers! Of notable interest to carbon discussions include the Canadian beef industry’s strong performance • Calf prices and retained ownership regarding the GHG footprint of beef production. Canadian beef has one of the lowest GHG footprints per unit of production in the world at 12.0 kg CO2 equivalent per kilogram of live weight, less than half of the world average. Land used for beef production currently stores approximately 1.5 billion tonnes of carbon and provides for the conservation of 44 million acres (Ma) of pasture lands including 32 Ma of native grasslands, an at-risk ecosystem with less than 18% remaining in North America. Bob Lowe, Chair of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) Environment Committee, said farmers and ranchers have long relied on conservation and stewardship practices to ensure healthy pastures, grasslands and ecosystems are preserved for future generations. What needs to be better understood is that these same practices help mitigate the impact of climate change, he said. Volume 16 Issue 10 • October 17, 2016 “Although the beef industry contributes to just 3.2% of Canada’s total GHG footprint we want to work together to find appropriate solutions,” Lowe said. “This way we ensure one well intended policy doesn’t negatively impact another environmental, social or economic goal we are working towards.” The economic portion of the sustainability assessment found that over the last decade a cow-calf herd of 200 head of cattle returned on average $17,559 to the Canadian beef producer. Many operations have diversified their incomes, including a high level of off-farm income. At the same time, the Canadian beef industry is an economic engine contributing more than $41 billion to the Canadian economy and generating 228,000 jobs. Raising cattle is not a large margin business, said CCA Executive Vice President Dennis Laycraft. “We have to remain competitive against the global market if we want to continue to contribute meaningfully to Canada’s economy and conservation goals. That is why as climate change discussions move forward we will continue to participate and promote a solutions-oriented dialogue,” he said. The CCA has developed recommendations to reduce the GHG footprint of Canadian beef production in the document, Beef Industry Strategies for Reducing Greenhouse Gases and Building the Green Economy (http://www.cattle.ca/assets/Strategies-for-Reducing-Greenhouse-Gases-from-Beef-Production-in- Canada-26.07.16.pdf). High level recommendations further detailed in the report include: • Increasing productivity to reduce the per kg GHG footprint of Canadian beef • Enhancing producer resiliency to the impacts of climate change • Mitigating GHG emissions • Supporting national and international climate change dialogue and action • Scientific measuring and monitoring The CCA also views the Federal Government’s focus on climate change to be an opportunity to introduce payment for ecological services (http://www.cattle. ca/assets/Environment/Payment-for-Ecological-Services.pdf ) programs that could support further soil carbon sequestration or other initiatives that reduce Canada’s GHG footprint. For more detail regarding recommendations for GHG reductions and facts regarding beef production and climate change, read the CCA’s Beef Industry Strategies for Reducing Greenhouse Gases and Building the Green Economy (http://www.cattle.ca/assets/Strategies-for-Reducing-Greenhouse-Gases-from- Beef-Production-in-Canada-26.07.16.pdf) and the results of the National Beef Sustainability Assessment (http://crsb.ca/wp-content/uploads/resources/NBSA_ and_Strategy_summary_report_web1.pdf). Bill C-246, Modernizing Animal Protections Act, defeated Private member’s bill, C-246, that would have amended the Criminal Code of Canada to remove the obligation to prove “willful intent” when prosecuting charges of negligence to animals, was defeated in a second reading vote in the House of Commons on October 5. Although the bill may have been well intentioned with respect to the treatment of domestic pets, the CCA felt it was poorly crafted and would have opened a door for criminal complaints against livestock farmers for normal farming activities. Shortly after the bill was introduced last February, the CCA worked closely with other agriculture organizations as well as Ontario Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) Francis Drouin and Manitoba Conservative MP Bob Sopuck to either try to remove the concerning provisions from the bill or work to defeat the bill. A key turning point was when the Liberal Government signalled it would not support C-246, indicating that at some point in its mandate, the Government intends to undertake a more comprehensive review of the Criminal Code as a whole. Volume 16 Issue 10 • October 17, 2016 Nevertheless, it was important for the CCA and other livestock producer groups to educate MPs on the initiatives that we are undertaking to ensure that the animals we raise are well cared for. We explained that animal care starts with the fact that most farmers’ choice to be involved in livestock production is usually motivated by a lifelong love for being around and caring for animals. Secondly, successful farmers know that treating their animals properly is good business in that well cared for animals grow better and are less likely to become sick or injured. This reality is underpinned by existing provincial and federal legislation including the Criminal Code that have served Canadians well. The major livestock sectors within Canadian agriculture have adopted Codes of Practice under the National Farm Animal Care Council. In 2013, the Canadian beef sector adopted the Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Beef Cattle. Similar Codes exist for dairy cattle, pigs, horses, farmed deer and foxes, goats, mink, sheep and for animals during transport. These Codes of Practice are living documents and are reviewed regularly as production practices evolve or as the collective body of knowledge expands through experience and research. The Codes of Practice for the various species provide useful instruction for farmers in both routine and exceptional circumstances. For example, where it becomes necessary for a farmer to terminate a sick or injured animal’s life, the Codes of Practice provide detailed instruction on the circumstances where euthanasia is appropriate, acceptable methods and equipment for euthanasia and recommended practices. Ultimately, it is a far better approach to provide farmers with knowledge, through tools like the Code of Practice and the Verified Beef Production Plus program than through poorly crafted legislation. In our contacts with MPs, we found many who were very much aligned with our position of wanting to protect animals, but were concerned with this particular bill’s potential to create unintended consequences for farmers, hunters and fishermen. In the end, C-246 was soundly defeated by a vote of 84 Members in favour of the bill and 198 opposed to it. Fifty-two Members did not vote. The CCA thanks MPs Drouin and Sopuck for their efforts to organize opposition in each of their parties that ultimately resulted in the defeat of the bill. A full rundown of the vote is reproduced below. Individual cattle producers may wish to contact their MPs and either thank them for supporting farmers and voting against C-246 or, if they voted in favour of the bill, ask them to explain their rationale. Volume 16 Issue 10 • October 17, 2016 YES NO Mr. Terry Beech Mr. Dan Ruimy Mr. Gord Johns Mr. Sukh Dhaliwal Mr. Jati Sidhu Mrs. Cathy McLeod Ms. Hedy Fry Ms. Rachel Blaney Mr. Peter Julian Ms. Pam Goldsmith-Jones Ms. Jody Wilson-Raybould Mr. Mark Strahl Mr. Stephen Fuhr Mr. Richard Cannings Ms. Jenny Kwan Ms. Joyce Murray Mr. Dan Albas Mr. Mark Warawa Mr. Ken Hardie Mr. Don Davies Ms. Sheila Malcolmson BC Ms. Carla Qualtrough Mr. Mel Arnold Mrs. Alice Wong Mr. Ron McKinnon Mr. Fin Donnelly Mr. Murray Rankin Mr. Harjit S. Sajjan Mr. Todd Doherty Mr. Bob Zimmer Mr. Randall Garrison Mr. Kennedy Stewart Mr. Randeep Sarai Mr. Ed Fast Mr. Wayne Stetski Mr. Randy Boissonnault Mr. Earl Dreeshen Mr. Martin Shields Mr. Kent Hehr Mr. Jim Eglinski Mr. Kevin Sorenson Ms. Michelle Rempel Mr. Darshan Singh Kang Mr. Garnett Genuis Mrs. Shannon Stubbs Mr. Len Webber AB Mr. Amarjeet Sohi Ms. Rachael Harder Mr. Arnold Viersen Ms. Linda Duncan Mr. Blaine Calkins Mr. Matt Jeneroux Mr. Chris Warkentin Mr. Michael Cooper Mr.