Minister MacAulay Announces Support For Dairy, Poultry And Egg Processors Across Canada

Ingleside, ON /CNW/ - Canada's supply management system is the backbone of rural communities across the country and supports countless Canadian family farms.

Today, the Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, announced an investment of up to $89 million for 49 projects across Canada under the Supply Management Processing Investment Fund. This Fund is a key part of the Government of Canada's commitment to supporting processors in supply-managed sectors in addressing the impacts of recent international trade agreements.

Through this funding, dairy, poultry and egg processors are able to purchase and install new automated equipment and technology, allowing them to boost their production capacity and productivity, while also helping them respond to environmental challenges and labour shortages. Project examples include milk pasteurizers, ultrafiltration systems, robotics for packaging systems, and new machines for grading, setting and breaking eggs.

Today's announcement was made in Ingleside, Ontario, at Lactalis Canada's cheese plant, which is set to receive up to $3,343,000 for new automated cheese processing and packaging equipment. These upgrades will help modernize the production facility, reduce waste and improve productivity.

The Government of Canada will continue to preserve, protect and defend Canada's supply management system. This system ensures Canadian producers receive fair returns for their labour and investments, brings stability for processors, and provides consumers with a steady supply of high-quality products.

Quotes
"I will always stand up for Canada's supply management system and the communities it supports. With this funding, dairy, poultry and egg processors will be able to modernize their operations so they can continue providing Canadian families with high-quality products while supporting small, rural communities across the country."
- The Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

"The Supply Management Processing Investment Fund has shown its value in leveraging increased investments from dairy processors in process innovation and upgrading plants. We commend government officials for their flexibility and responsiveness to the evolving needs of the dairy processing community in the administration of this program."
- Mathieu Frigon, President and CEO, Dairy Processors Association of Canada

"The Supply Management Processing Investment Fund has enabled numerous poultry and egg processors to make important new investments in their facilities. New investments in equipment and technology will facilitate companies' efforts to increase productivity and efficiency and enable Canadian poultry and egg processors to undertake valuable and leading-edge modernization projects."
- Mark Hubert, President & CEO, Canadian Poultry and Egg Processors Council

Quick Facts

• The supply-managed sectors are significant contributors to Canada's agricultural sector, generating almost $14 billion in farm-gate sales in 2022 and creating approximately 100,000 direct jobs in Canada in production and processing activities.
• In 2022, dairy and poultry processing activities alone contributed $27 billion to Canada's manufacturing shipments, equivalent to 17 percent of Canada's total manufactured shipments of food and beverage.
• Launched in 2022, the Supply Management Processing Investment Fund is a 6-year, $397.5-million program aimed at helping processors of supply-managed commodities adapt to market changes resulting from trade agreements.
• The application intake for funding under the Supply Management Processing Investment Fund is open. The program provides non-repayable contributions, supporting up to 50% of eligible project costs for small- and medium-sized enterprises and up to 25% for large organizations of 500 employees or more.
• The Government of Canada has delivered on its commitment to fully and fairly compensate producers and processors who have lost market share under the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). The total compensation will reach over $4.8 billion.

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