TORONTO —
COVID-19 infections are now disrupting parts of Canada’s food sector, including the meat processing industry.
Meat-packing plants in Alberta that are responsible for a substantial portion of Canada’s beef are shut or running reduced lines as they grapple with outbreaks among staff.
The shutdown of these plants and others across the country is causing a ripple effect throughout Canada’s food supply chain, affecting grocery stores and fast-food chains.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addressed the shutdown of meat plants in his daily public briefing on Wednesday, saying the federal government’s priority is ensuring those supply chains keep functioning and that its workers feel safe.
“The priority or the preoccupation and challenges we’re facing isn’t as much around safety of the food produced, which continues to be ensured, but the safety of the workers working in those plants because of COVID-19,” Trudeau said. “That is something that requires a little more work and a little more co-ordination to ensure that we’re keeping those workers safe, not just the food safe — which is always a priority for us all.”
Trudeau said the federal government is working “very closely” with the agricultural industry and provinces to ensure that meat plants continue to get food to Canadians while adhering to public health measures.
CTVNews.ca looks at which processing plants are seeing outbreaks and what the companies are doing to ensure Canada maintains a safe supply of meat.
CARGILL INC.
Cargill Inc. — one of Alberta’s largest meat processing plants — shut down its plant in High River on April 20 after a 68-year-old woman who worked at the plant died from COVID-19.
As of Tuesday, there are now 759 cases of COVID-19 confirmed among workers at the Cargill plant. It’s the largest outbreak linked to a single site in Canada.
The temporary closure of the facility isn’t expected to result in beef shortages, but the reduction in capacity will mean that ranchers will bear the brunt. As prices for their product fall, ranchers will have to choose between an increase in transportation costs for sending their cattle further for processing, or an increase in overhead because they’re keeping the animals for longer.
The Cargill plant processes about 4,500 head of cattle per day — more than one-third of Canada’s beef-processing capacity.
JBS CANADA
The JBS meat-packing plant in Brooks, Alta. has recorded 124 cases as of COVID-19 and one death as of Monday. The plant has reduced operations but remains open.
A petition has been launched calling for a temporary two-week shutdown of the facility to limit the spread of the virus, and for an inspection to ensure public health measures are being upheld.
CCA Executive Vice President Dennis Laycraft told CTVNews.ca that the closure of these two plants has already created a backlog of market-ready animals.
“Cargill is one of our largest plants and combined with what’s happening in JBS, that’s basically pushing prices down as cattle are delayed to be sold. And we’ve seen prices since the plant closed dropped by about $500 an animal,” Laycraft said in a telephone interview on Wednesday.
To cope with the backlog, Laycraft said producers are keeping cattle on feed for longer to slow their growth.
CONESTOGA MEATS
Pork processing plant Conestoga Meats in the Waterloo, Ont. region halted operations April 24 after seven of its employees tested positive for COVID-19. The plant will not be processing hogs for at least 7 days, resulting in limited staffing and operations. The company typically processes between 35,000 to 40,000 hogs a week
The company said in a statement that it is working closely with health officials to ensure prevention, testing, and cleaning protocols are being followed. The Ontario Ministry of Labour is investigating two complaints filed April 22 about a lack of physical distancing procedures at the plant is ongoing.
LILYDALE
The union representing employees at the Lilydale plant in Calgary is calling for the factory’s closure after an employee tested positive for COVID-19.
The employee last worked at the plant on April 15 and is self-isolating at home. Sofina Foods, which owns the plant, says it remains fully operational and has taken a number of steps to protect its workers. However, the United Food and Commercial Workers Canada Union says physical distancing measures at the plant are not being followed and are asking it be closed until proper health protocols are in place.
UNITED POULTRY CO.
The United Poultry Co. Ltd. plant in Vancouver temporarily closed on April 20 after 28 workers at the plant tested positive for COVID-19. The outbreak prompted a statement from B.C. Premier John Horgan who said that sick employees must stay home after learning that workers stayed on the job for fear of losing wages.
Vancouver Coastal Health and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency are investigating the outbreak. The health authority said in a news release that the CFIA determined that a recall of chicken products from the plant is not required.
Two cases of COVID-19 were also confirmed at United Poultry Co.’s sister plant Superior Poultry on April 23. An investigation at the plant is underway.
OLYMEL
Quebec’s Olymel slaughterhouse closed on March 29 after nine cases of COVID-19 were detected among its workforce. More than 100 workers at the facility were later found to have been infected.
The plant has since reopened following an increase in disinfection measures and screening activities issued by the region’s health authorities. The plant’s entire workforce was in self-isolation during the closure and only those who have exhibited no symptoms have returned to work.
MAPLE LEAF FOODS
Major poultry plant Maple Leaf Foods located in Brampton, Ont. suspended operations on April 8 after three people working at the facility tested positive for COVID-19.
The plant has since reopened following a deep cleaning of the plant, including common areas and offices.
An additional COVID-19 case was also confirmed earlier this month at Maple Leaf Foods Heritage plant in Hamilton, Ont. However, the company says the plant remained open as the worker had not been at the plant for two weeks before the diagnosis.
Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said in a video conference in mid April that she is confident Canada has enough food amid the COVID-19 pandemic but said higher prices and less variety on store shelves is a possibility.
Laycraft said the sooner meat-packing plants make adjustments to their production lines so employees can safely return to work, the less likely there will be a meat shortage.
“Plants are actually putting in place literally hundreds of changes to ensure there’s a safe workplace,” Laycraft said. “We’re hopeful that we’ll get plants up and running and if we do, then we can avoid shortages. But if they continue to be idle, then then we will start to face shortages.”
Restaurants and fast food chains are also starting to be impacted from Canadian meat plants closing or reducing operations.
McDonald’s Canada says it will start importing beef as Canada’s food supply chain struggles to meet demand amid changes in operations to meat plants amid COVID-19. The restaurant chain, which prides itself on using only Canadian beef, said in a statement released April 28 that it had to change its policy due to limited processing capacity at Canadian suppliers including those at Cargill Inc.
In the United States, President Donald Trump has issued an executive order that meat-processing plants remain open to protect the country’s food supply, despite concerns it puts employees at risk of catching the virus.
At least 15 large plants in the U.S., including major producer JBS USA, Smithfield Foods, and Tyson Foods, among others, have temporarily closed or reduced production due to outbreaks.
Earlier this month Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said beef producers and associations are prioritizing Canadian supply before exports to ensure there are no shortages.
Canada exports about 45 per cent of its beef and cattle production annually, according to the national association, and ships to 56 countries, with the U.S. receiving 74 per cent of beef exports.
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
