Food and beverage (F&B) manufacturers are at the center of Canada’s food supply. F&B is the largest manufacturing sector in Canada. Few Canadian agriculture products make it to Canada’s grocery shelves without first being transformed by one of this sector’s 7,000+ companies. Read the recommendations in our pre-budget submission to the federal government here.
Since the start of COVID-19, front-line food and beverage workers have continued to work, with little public recognition, so that Canadians can continue to eat. So critical are these workers that provincial and federal governments have recognized them as essential.
June 5, 2020, Food and Beverage Canada, together with its provincial association members – Food and Beverage Atlantic, CTAQ, Food and Beverage Ontario, Food and Beverage Manitoba and BC Food and Beverage – wrote to the Prime Minister and federal Minister of Finance requesting supports for the sector;
On his briefing this morning the Prime Minister thanked “people across the entire food sector”. He noted that for “farmers and people across the agri-food business” these are hard times.
March 20, 2020—Ottawa—The Government of Canada is providing an update on travel restrictions put in place to stem the spread of COVID-19.
Food and Beverage Canada – Aliments et boissons Canada has learned that due to the border closure announced by Premier Trudeau on March 16th, temporary foreign workers will not be able to enter Canada for work on farms and in food production facilities. These individuals are important members of the workforce and contributors to Canada’s food supply chain.
Food and Beverage Canada congratulates The Honourable Carla Qualtrough on her appointment as Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion and The Honourable Marco E. L. Mendicino on his appointment as Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Labour is the number one issue facing Canada’s food and beverage manufacturing sector today.
Food and Beverage Canada congratulates The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau you her recent re-appointment as Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. Food and beverage is the largest manufacturing employer in Canada, collectively employing over 260,000 people. Total sector shipments, at over $112.4 billion, are the second largest of any manufacturing sector in the country.
Food and Beverage Canada congratulates the members of Canada’s federal Liberal Cabinet on their recent appointments.
In particular, we would like to acknowledge the appointment of Chrystia Freeland as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs. It is critical that women across Canada, and indeed around the world, witness for themselves the presence and contributions of women in positions of political authority. We are all made stronger when our governments are inclusive and representative.
Having won the most seats in Election 2019, Justin Trudeau has indicated his plans to form a minority government, rejecting any possibility of forming a coalition with other parties.
The Liberals are now left to govern in a difficult and fragile political environment – one made more challenging by the regional polarization in Canadian federal politics. The Liberal’s failure to win any seats in Alberta or Saskatchewan has left a significant gap in the government’s caucus. Justin Trudeau has confirmed he will announce his new Cabinet on November 20 – much later than expected but providing time to decide how to represent Western Canada around the Cabinet table.
Ⓒ Food and Beverage Canada – Aliments et boissons Canada.
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