The Fédération de la relève agricole du Québec (FRAQ) participated today in special consultations surrounding Bill No. 70, An Act to amend the Animal Health Protection Act.
This bill, introduced by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, strengthens animal protection measures throughout Quebec, particularly in terms of health controls in order to ensure better protection of animal health and public health.
However, although the government claims to want to strengthen the legislation, several provisions of this amendment lack precision and could lead to additional costs and an increase in the administrative burden for the successions.
“The FRAQ welcomes the bill, however the lack of details regarding the implementation of new regulations makes us fear an increase in responsibilities and workload for the next generation, without support measures being identified,” says David Beauvais, president of the Fédération de la relève agricole and sheep producer.
With nearly 50% of members in animal production, the FRAQ recommends that Bill 70 emphasize the importance that all persons designated as “authorized” must follow the same recognized and uniform training in order to avoid disparities in treatment and that mandatory record keeping and traceability systems be harmonized with those already existing, or that these be recognized as equivalent. All this, to avoid increasing paperwork. In addition, the next generation demands that all new measures be related to financial and human support.
“We already have quite a few expenses and paperwork. We really don’t need more. Keep in mind that each additional expense or request for paperwork can be the make or break point for a start-up. That’s why we need to think about compensation or reimbursement mechanisms,” adds the FRAQ president.
Finally, the FRAQ requests that, before the bill is adopted, the government commit to ensuring that future agricultural producers are consulted before the regulatory application that will follow the adoption of the law.