Food & Consumer Products of Canada (FCPC) have called on political candidates and party leaders to ensure the next government strengthens Canada’s largest manufacturing employer.
“Food is fundamental to Canada’s families, farmers, economy, and environment,” said FCPC CEO Michael Graydon. “We employ more people than any other manufacturing sector, and we have taken bold steps to deliver products Canadians rely on, more sustainably than ever before.”
Nearly 300,000 workers rely on the sector, which is also the overall top employer in rural Canada. Yet, barriers to growth cost Canada 12 jobs in the sector every single day between 2012 and 2017.
“Our commitments are ambitious,” Graydon continued, “and we need government to enable an environment that makes Canada a food powerhouse now and for the future.”
To remove barriers that raise food costs and impede growth, FCPC is calling on the next government to:
- Modernize regulations: With 140,000 regulations at the federal level alone, Canada’s red tape impedes innovation and competitiveness, hurting Canadian jobs and limiting the choices on grocery store shelves.
- Enable innovation: Canada has the potential to be a global leader in innovative food and packaging solutions that address our most pressing challenges. However, current policies are driving away opportunity, with four in five new products sold on Canadian shelves developed abroad.
- Increase access to foreign markets: Canada must negotiate and implement ambitious free trade agreements that diversify access to consumers around the world, creating new demand for the high-quality goods Canadian workers produce.
- Level the playing field between manufacturers and retailers: With five companies controlling more than 80 per cent of grocery stores, farmers, food manufacturers, grocers, and government must work together to find a balance that works for everyone.
Print this page
