FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 13, 2005

MITCHELL MISSING IN ACTION ON BSE

Ottawa – James Bezan, MP the Official Opposition’s Associate Critic for Agriculture and Agri-food, slammed the Liberal government and agriculture minister Andy Mitchell for dragging his feet on the creation of a beef-cattle trade advisory group.

“Andy Mitchell’s been missing in action on BSE since becoming agriculture minister,” said Bezan. “He waited almost 600 days to create a beef-cattle trade advisory group, after the government was asked to do so by the cattle industry in February of 2004. What took him so long?”

In a letter dated February 6, 2004, representatives of the Canadian beef industry asked then-agriculture minister Bob Speller to institute a trade group as part of a coordinated response to the BSE border closure. Last summer, several provinces renewed their push for the creation of a BSE trade group to help open new markets.

While the Conservative Party has continued to ask the government to open new markets to Canadian beef, Mitchell has failed to take concrete steps to increase trade for beef producers. “Andy Mitchell sat on his hands while Conservatives fought for farmers,” said Bezan. “The Minister’s inaction on this file has greatly harmed ranchers and the cattle industry as a whole”

Bezan concluded that, “maybe he thinks announcing this trade group will improve his standing, but nobody’s fooled. Everyone knows that beef, cattle and other agricultural trade issues will only be advanced under a Conservative government.”