Pandemic preparedness Bill C-293 controversy in Alberta’s agriculture sector

Members of Alberta's poultry, beef, and pork industries are concerned about language in Bill C-293, the Pandemic Prevention and Preparedness Act.

A private members bill currently making its way through the Senate in Ottawa is ruffling a few feathers in Alberta.

Bill C-293, the Pandemic Prevention and Preparedness Act, says it aims to prevent the risk of and prepare for future pandemics and to promote transparency and accountability in relation to the Government of Canada’s efforts to do so.

The bill’s summary says it’s critical to build on the lessons learned from previous outbreaks of serious diseases, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Ebola virus disease (EVD), Zika virus disease, tuberculosis, H1N1 flu and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19.)

However, members of the Prairie province’s poultry, beef, and pork industries are concerned about language in the bill they say targets producers.

Alberta responded quickly to Bill C-293, with the province’s agriculture minister calling on the Senate to reconsider.

The provincial government said it’s highly intrusive legislation that unfairly singles out the agriculture and food industry and encroaches on Section 95 of the Constitution Act, which sets agriculture within the exclusive jurisdiction of the province.

“Farming is woven into the fabric of our national identity, with modern livestock agriculture playing a vital role,” said a statement from Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation RJ Sigurdson.

“Bill C-293, however, goes so far as to pick winners and losers within the agriculture sector, with potentially wide-reaching, catastrophically damaging regulations and restriction of commercial freedoms for agricultural producers and processors.”