| | Overview:
Honourable Oneil Carlier, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry (AF), led a mission to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to attend the 2017 Legislative Agriculture Chairs (LAC) Summit and to address a session devoted to State/Provincial Response to Natural Disasters. The mission was designed to support Alberta’s international trade and intergovernmental relations priorities with our most important bilateral trading partner and largest export market for agriculture, food, and forestry products, the United States (US).
Historically, the Summit has been used by Canada as an advocacy forum to address adverse trade policy or legislation, profile Alberta’s agriculture and forestry sectors, and to further encourage bilateral cooperation within the agriculture and forestry sectors. The 2017 Summit afforded Alberta/Canada the opportunity to reaffirm relations and positions, and to seek assurances from US legislators that a new US administration will not revisit past agricultural policies or legislation that would adversely impact Canada’s livestock industry.
The 2017 Summit drew 125 legislators from 46 US states and six Canadian provinces. In attendance were ministers of Agriculture from Alberta and Manitoba, Saskatchewan’s Minister of Environment, along with members of the Legislative Assemblies of Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and Saskatchewan. The remainder of the Canada Delegation was comprised of representatives of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Market Access Secretariat, the Canadian Consulates of Minneapolis and Dallas, and industry representation from the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, Canadian Pork Council, and Manitoba Pork.
The Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), also attended and gave a keynote address on working with the new US administration, bilateral agricultural trade, and cross-border cooperation.
Mission Objectives:
- Profile the Province of Alberta and its agriculture and forestry sectors.
- Advance Alberta’s /Canada’s trade policy priorities with influential US legislators and industry leaders.
- Expand and strengthen relations with Alberta’s/Canada’s largest and most significant export market for agriculture, food, and forestry products.
- Convey Alberta’s/Canada’s willingness to continue to work with the new US administration on matters related to free trade, sound agriculture policy and legislation, the environment, and bilateral cooperation and advancement.
Results:
The mission provided Minister Carlier with strategic exposure to key US State agriculture legislators to convey Alberta’s position on trade and to profile the province’s agriculture, forestry, and tourism sectors. Minister Carlier was further able to engage his provincial colleagues from Manitoba (Hon. Ralph Eichler, Minister of Agriculture) and Saskatchewan (Hon. Scott Moe, Minister of Environment), Canada’s national livestock federations, and Canada’s federal government on matters related to agricultural cooperation, enhancement of trade, and addressing issues that continue to impact market access.
Throughout the Summit, Minister Carlier and the Canadian delegation conveyed the importance of the open, two-way trade relationship between the US and Canada. Additionally, the Summit allowed Minister Carlier to defend Alberta’s agriculture interests through reinforcing and reiterating support for Alberta’s producers exporting to the US, by seeking assurances that the new US administration will not revisit Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling legislation for Canadian beef and pork.
The Western Regional Dinner on January 6 featured a discussion on state/provincial agricultural challenges and priorities. The Alberta delegation was joined by Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. In 2015, these states accounted for $1.4B of Alberta’s agriculture and food exports.
Minister Carlier participated in the annual Canada Delegation Briefing for a strategic discussion on the new US administration, current trade issues, and bilateral/multilateral trade agreements. Minister MacAulay and Manitoba Agriculture’s Minister Eichler, respectively, provided greetings and welcoming remarks, with advocacy updates from AAFC’s Market Access Secretariat, the Consulates of Minneapolis and Dallas, Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, and the Canadian Pork Council.
During the first full day of the Summit, Minister Carlier was joined by representatives from the State of Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, and The Nature Conservancy for a panel devoted to State/Provincial Response to Natural Disasters. The Minister spoke to the scope, devastation, and experience of the May 2016 Horse River Wildfire in the Wood Buffalo-Fort McMurray region, and lessons learned that could potentially aid other jurisdictions in their efforts to better mitigate and combat wildfires.
On the final day, Minister Carlier addressed the US-Canada Delegation on the July 2019 Summit to be held in Calgary, and he profiled the province’s rich agricultural history, its strength and diversity, and the willingness to bring the Summit to Canada for the second time. It will immediately follow the Calgary Stampede, July 14-17, 2019 and provide a unique opportunity for Alberta to engage with a large US delegation to reinforce the importance of the US-Canada relationship.
The mission was successful in achieving the following results:
- Communicated Canada’s willingness to work with the new US administration and Congress to advance the agriculture sector, and stressed the need for continued bilateral understanding and collaboration.
- Articulated the significance of enhanced US-Canada government relations and the importance of our bilateral trade relationship.
- Conveyed Alberta’s position on US Country of Origin Labeling legislation and sought reassurance from key US states that this rule would not be reintroduced moving forward.
- Outlined Alberta’s experience in combating wildfires and dialogued on how state/ provincial jurisdictions could better mitigate the impact of natural disasters.
- Profiled Alberta’s/Canada’s agriculture, food, and forestry sectors to US agricultural legislators representing 46 US states.
Delegation:
- Honourable Oneil Carlier
- Tony Clark, Chief of Staff to the Minister
- Bev Yee, Deputy Minister, AF
- Annalisa Baer, Director, International Relations and Marketing Section, AF
Final Itinerary for Minister Carlier
| Date | Event |
| Friday, January 6 | · Depart Edmonton
· 2017 LAC Summit West Regional Dinner
· Canada Delegation Briefing |
| Saturday, January 7 | · Consumer Focus Group and Panel Discussion
· State/Provincial Response to Natural Disasters
· Water Quality/Quantity
· Future of Forestry and Agri-Tourism
· Agriculture and Climate Change
· Trade Supporting Rural Communities
· Canada Profiling Event |
| Sunday, January 8 | · State Ag and Rural Leaders Annual Meeting and Summit Resolutions
· Future of Technology and Agriculture
· US Administration Outlook
· Summit Conclusion and Depart Baton Rouge |
Significant Speeches/Presentations:
- January 7: Minister Carlier address on Alberta’s experience during the 2016 Horse River Wildfire.
- January 8: Minister Carlier address on the July 14-17, 2019 Summit in Calgary.
News Releases/Communiques:
- Summit focuses on agriculture and rural development, January 4, 2017
https://www.alberta.ca/release.cfm?xID=45078316ED9C0-A767-7EC4-F588ABDF4BF825F5
- Minister MacAulay in US to highlight importance of strong bilateral agricultural trade, January 8, 2017
http://news.gc.ca/web/article-en.do?nid=1176179&tp=1
- Canadian Cattlemen’s Association Action News, January 9, 2017
http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/minister-macaulay-us-highlight- importance-strong-bilateral-agricultural-trade-2186807.htm
International Travel Final Expenses
| Expenditures by Participants | Amount |
| Travel (includes airfare, airport service fees, ground transportation costs, including taxis, car rentals, parking, trains, buses as well as mileage to/from airport or taxis to/from airport in Alberta, including any cancellation fees) | $4,397.60 |
| Accommodation (room charges and related taxes, including any cancellation fees) | $2,002.63 |
| Meals (includes restaurant bills and tips, meals on hotel bills, per diem meal claims, share of group meals or working sessions) | $402.29 |
| Incidental and Miscellaneous (includes cell phone rental charges, incremental costs for all electronic devices such as roaming charges for cell phones, iPads and costs associated with communications such as the costs incurred for media call-backs, conference/ registration fees, including cancellation fees, fax and internet charges, passport and visa fees, medical and inoculation fees, laundry and dry cleaning, baggage handling, out-of-country per diems, and other sundry expenditures) | $708.66 |
Sub-Total | $7,511.18 |
| General Mission Expenditures | Amount |
| Receptions and Hosting (receptions, luncheons, dinners, and events that are hosted by the Government of Alberta that are specific to the mission and include meeting related costs for room rental, room rental for hosted events, food, beverages, catering staff, service charges, entertainment, flowers) | $6,541.75 |
| Incidental and Miscellaneous (includes translation of documents fees, publications, shipping charges, gifts purchased specifically for mission, Canadian Embassy/High Commission/Consulate charges for services provided to the GOA) |  |
Sub-Total | $6,541.75 |
Total Costs | $14,052.93 |
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