On November 14 and 15, Ontario Pork Board Members met with Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs) at Queen’s Park to discuss four key initiatives for the pork industry:

• Expand processing capacity: Find solutions to address to the current reliance on processing plants located in other provinces and in the United States.
• Improve emergency preparedness: The pork industry requires timely and responsive government programs and tools to ensure an orderly crisis response that protects animal welfare and industry infrastructure.
• Resolve labour shortages: Greater government and industry collaboration to address the recruitment, training and retention of workers on our farms as well as for our industry partners.
• Continued partnership in risk management: Increase funding for Risk Management Program by $100 million to make the program more insurance-based, allowing funds to build up during good years, making increased payments available when needed most.

Lots of great discussions were had with more than twenty MPPs across party lines: Conservatives, NDP, Liberal, and Green. Support for agriculture remains strong across all parties.