Voluntary Report - public distribution

**Date:** 4/7/2006

**GAIN Report Number:** CA6014

CA6014

**Canada**

**Agricultural Situation**

**This Week in Canadian Agriculture, Issue 10**

**2006**

**Approved by:**

![](media/image1.wmf)Lisa Anderson

U.S. Embassy

**Prepared by:**

George Myles

**Report Highlights:**

Minister Strahl Applauds Decision Denying R-Calf Bid for Permanent
Injunction \* Ruling Against R-Calf is Great News, Say Canadian
Cattlemen \* Cattle Group Elects New President \* Strahl Says Government
Will Replace the Canadian Agricultural Income Support (CAIS) Program

Includes PSD Changes: No

Includes Trade Matrix: No

Unscheduled Report

Ottawa \[CA1\]

\[CA\]

This Week in Canadian Agriculture is a weekly review of Canadian
agricultural industry developments of interest to the U.S. agricultural
community. The issues summarized in this report cover a wide range of
subject matter obtained from Canadian press reports, government press
releases, and host country agricultural officials and representatives.

*Disclaimer*: Any press report summaries in this report are included to
bring U.S. readership closer to the pulse of Canadian developments in
agriculture. In no way do the views and opinions of these sources
reflect USDA's, the U.S. Embassy's, or any other U.S. Government
agency's point of view or official policy.

**MINISTER STRAHL APPLAUDS DECISION DENYING REQUEST TO CLOSE U.S. BORDER
TO CANADIAN CATTLE AND OTHER RUMINANTS:** In a press release, federal
agriculture minister Chuck Strahl said, "The U.S. District Court of
Montana sided with internationally recognized science standards and has
denied a request from Ranchers-Cattleman Action Legal Fund (R-CALF) to
permanently close the U.S. border to Canadian cattle and other
ruminants. This is a great development for the Canadian industry. I
applaud U.S Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns\' continued
determination to move towards a normalization of trade on the basis of
sound scientific norms and principles. The Government of Canada and the
U.S. Department of Agriculture recognize that both our countries are
best served by an integrated North American beef and ruminant market
guided by internationally accepted science. In denying R-CALF\'s request
for a permanent injunction, the U.S. District Court of Montana noted
that the Ninth Circuit of Appeals had reviewed the Final Rule and
concluded that the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture had a firm basis for
determining that the resumption of imports from Canada would not
significantly increase the risk of bovine spongiform encephalopathy
(BSE). Canada and the U.S. continue to have the same risk status for
BSE. Both our countries have adopted extensive complementary and
parallel measures to protect human and animal health, as well as food
safety, based on internationally recognized science standards and we
will continue to strive for the eradication of BSE from the North
American herd and the normalization of trade.\"

**RULING AGAINST R-CALF IS GREAT NEWS, SAY CANADIAN CATTLEMEN:**
Following the R-CALF loss in its bid to gain a permanent injunction
against Canadian cattle imports, the newly elected Canadian Cattlemen's
Association President Hugh Lynch-Staunton said, "This is great news for
(Canadian) cattle producers, and one that we've been awaiting a long
time.  When the border reopened to under 30 month of age feeder and
slaughter cattle last July, many Canadians thought the BSE issue was
over. We in the cattle industry were well aware that a decision against
us in the court in Montana could have shut the border again. It's a
great relief to have the decision announced in our favor." R-CALF
president Chuck Kiker said that his organization was \"deeply
disappointed\" by the ruling but that R-CALF would turn its attention to
preventing the import of Canadian cattle older than 30 months. Cattle
imports above 30 months of age, and breeding cattle, are currently
banned under U.S. BSE import control, but USDA is expected to publish a
"second" rule later in the current year proposing to allow for their
import.

**CATTLE GROUP ELECTS NEW PRESIDENT:** The Canadian Cattlemen's
Association (CCA) elected Alberta cattle producer Hugh Lynch-Staunton as
President at the organization's Annual General Meeting held March 29 --
31 in Ottawa, replacing Stan Eby, who led the organization for the past
two years. Lynch-Staunton and his family run a cow-calf and background
operation and a mixed grain farm at Lundbreck in southern Alberta.
Lynch-Staunton has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of
Alberta. In his acceptance speech he thanked the two Presidents who
preceded him -- Stan Eby and Neil Jahnke -- for their leadership during
the BSE crisis. He noted that a great deal of work remains to be done,
especially re-opening the U.S. border to breeding stock and to cattle
over 30 months of age. Brad Wildeman, the former Chair of the CCA
Foreign Trade Committee was elected Vice President. Wildeman is a cattle
feedlot operator from Lanigan, Saskatchewan, President of Pound Maker
Agventures Ltd., and a Director with the Saskatchewan Stock Growers. He
also represents the CCA on the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance, which
represents Canadian agricultural sectors united in their dependence on
trade and in their need for a liberalized international trading
environment.

**AGMIN SAYS GOVERNMENT WILL REPLACE CANADIAN AGRICULTURAL INCOME
SUPPORT PROGRAM:** Federal agriculture minister Chuck Strahl told
protestors at an all-day farm rally on Parliament Hill that the
Conservative government will replace the Canadian Agriculture Income
Support (CAIS) program with a new, and separate, income-support and
disaster-relief programs. However, no big changes are expected until
next year. Currently, the government has agreement with the all ten
provinces on CAIS so its likely that in the immediate future, the
government will choose to amend the current program and then chart out
its new goal of addressing income support and disaster relief
separately. Canada's new Prime Minister met the farm rally organizers,
who were protesting that they couldn't compete with what they called
heavily subsidized farmers in the United States and Europe. Prime
Minister Stephen Harper said that his new government will end what he
called an era of government neglect for Canadian farmers and committed
to increasing existing farm support programs by half a billion dollars
annually.

Find FAS on the World Wide Web:

Visit our headquarters' home page at
[http://www.fas.usda.gov](http://www.fas.usda.gov/) for a complete
listing of FAS' worldwide agricultural reporting.

# 

# Recent Reports from FAS/Ottawa: 

  ----------------- ---------------------------------------- -------------
  Report Number     Title of Report                          Date

  CA6013            This Week in Canadian Agriculture, Issue 03/31/2006
                    9                                        

  CA6012            This Week in Canadian Agriculture, Issue 03/17/2006
                    8                                        

  CA6011            This Week in Canadian Agriculture, Issue 03/10/2006
                    7                                        

  CA6009            This Week in Canadian Agriculture, Issue 03/03/2006
                    6                                        
  ----------------- ---------------------------------------- -------------

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