AGRI Committee Report
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The Canadian meat and meat products industry represents a market worth about $12 billion a year. One of the reasons underlying the success of this industry is that after nearly a hundred years of effort and investment by Canadian taxpayers and Canadian livestock producers, Canada is now free from bovine tuberculosis, except for a small area in Manitoba near Riding Mountain National Park. It is to protect these efforts and investments that the Standing Committee conducted a series of meetings on new cases of bovine tuberculosis in some cattle herds in the vicinity of the Park. In 1985, the Park was designated a Biosphere Reserve under the Man and the Biosphere Program of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Culture Organization. This means that the ecological integrity of the Park is also an important factor to consider in a strategy aimed at eradicating tuberculosis. The Committee solicited the opinions of farmers, scientists, and government officials, and we are very appreciative of their inputs. As Chair, I join members of the Committee in the belief that the recommendations in this unanimous report will make it possible to maintain the ecological integrity of Riding Mountain National Park and the sustainable economic development of neighbouring communities. |