| | AR - 186
The 15th annual meeting of the Accord was held in the Sacramento, California on April13-16 2005. The Accord is a forum for states and provinces from Canada, the US and Mexico to address cross border issues, exchange information and improve agriculture trade relations. Agriculture Secretaries, Commissioners, Directors, Ministers and senior government officials from eight Canadian provinces, 28 US states and 16 Mexican states were in attendance.
The Canadian delegation was headed by the Honourable Rosann Wowchuk, Deputy Premier and Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives of Manitoba. The Mexican Delegation was headed by the Honourable Secretary Aureoles, Secretary of Agriculture for the State of Michoacan and the President of the Mexican Association of Secretaries of Agricultural and Livestock Development. The US delegation was headed by the Honourable Nathan Rudgers, Commissioner of the New York Department of Agriculture and Markets, and President of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture.
The Canadian participants included the Provincial Agriculture Ministers from Ontario, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island as well as senior officials from Quebec, New Brunswick and the federal government. The delegation from Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development included the Honourable Doug Horner, Minister, Barry Mehr, Deputy Minister, Colin Jeffares, Assistant Deputy Minister, Jason Krips, Executive Assistant and Len Ewanyk, Trade Policy Member.
The delegates visited the Culinary Institute of America, a non-profit institute offering career development classes for food and wine professionals, and learned about trends in nutrition relating to health. Delegates also toured California’s Napa Valley wine-producing region and had the opportunity to meet with producers.
Rural Development Workshop
As part of the formal program, delegates participated in a tri-lateral workshop on regional rural development. Representatives summarized the history, strategies and initiatives related to rural development in each country. Discussion focused on policy options for the creation of rural prosperity, rural competitiveness and the mitigation of regional disparities. Delegates emphasized and agreed that rural development principles can be applied to the North American region.
US / Canada Bilateral Meeting
The US / Canada Working Group meeting was co-chaired by Minister Wowchuk and the Honourable Patrick Takasugi, Idaho Secretary of Agriculture.
Delegates were updated by US and Canadian federal officials regarding recent activities and initiatives on a wide range of agricultural issues including bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and other animal health issues, the year round movement of feeder cattle, pesticide harmonization, Canadian Ministerial Exemptions, seed lab certification, bioterrorism, biotechnology and nutritional labeling.
Delegates agreed to continue working toward harmonization of animal health standards, livestock feed regulations and risk mitigation measures in relation to BSE. There was consensus to maintain a science-based approach in the development of animal health policies. Acknowledging the progress that has been done, the US delegation highlighted the need to resolve further long-standing animal disease issues on bluetongue, anaplasmosis, tuberculosis and brucellosis.
Delegates agreed to urge senior federal officials to further pesticide harmonization, address rail transportation concerns that have resulted from the US Bioterrorism Act, share information related to invasive species, examine joint wine marketing opportunities and continue to monitor the impact of country of origin labeling at the state and federal levels.
Mexico / Canada Bilateral Meeting
The Mexico / Canada Working Group meeting was co-chaired by Secretary Aureoles and Minister Wowchuk.
There was considerable discussion on the issue of harmonization and trade remedy policies, particularly with respect to how these policies affect both Canada and Mexico. Delegates formed a working group to prepare correspondence to senior US federal officials outlining these concerns.
The delegates also discussed and exchanged information on a variety of bilateral agricultural issues. The Canadian and Mexican delegations expressed concerns regarding country of origin labeling in the US and agreed to continue monitoring any new developments.
Canada and Mexico expressed their concerns regarding the US prohibition on the transshipment and trade of live dairy heifers between Canada and Mexico. Delegates agreed to forward this concern to senior US officials.
Tri-Lateral Meeting
Delegates participated in a tri-lateral meeting with the objective of creating a stronger, more integrated North American agricultural market. Discussions focused on developing a framework for enhancing global competitiveness, strengthening the economy of rural areas and taking advantage of complementing production systems.
As a result of the meeting, three tri-national working groups were established to review, report and provide recommendations on:
- developing a regional rural development policy.
- harmonization of animal, plant and food safety policies / standards.
- impact of trade remedy policies on agricultural trade within North American.
Alberta and Manitoba will be the co-lead provinces on the rural development working group. Ontario and British Columbia will be the Canadian leads for the other two working groups respectively.
Next Accord
During the Sacramento meeting, Minister Horner extended an invitation to the Mexican and US delegates to come to Alberta for the Sixteenth Meeting of the Tri-National Accord in 2006. |
|