After withdrawing in 2004, AHEP is about to get back on board with the Canadian Hatching Egg Producers
After nearly a decade on its own, Alberta Hatching Egg Producers is close to rejoining the Canadian Hatching Egg Producers national board.
“We’re just waiting for the national end to go through all the protocol,” said Kevin Tiemstra, Alberta representative to the national board.
Alberta withdrew from the national quota agreement in 2004, partly over the issue of production penalties and because its import share was lower than other provinces, he said.
But the penalties have been eliminated and an agreement reached on Alberta’s import share, and Tiemstra said it seemed everyone was happy to be getting more provinces on board and working together.
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“We felt there was benefit to being part of the national agency,” he said.
Alberta has been a contractual member of the national agency since 2009 as part of the preparation for readmittance. There are a number of regulatory steps that must be gone through, but it’s expected Alberta and Saskatchewan, which is also going through the readmittance process, will be full voting members by July, said Giuseppe Caminiti, general manager of the national board.
Being part of the national setup allows Alberta to fully participate in the development of food safety and animal care programs, Caminiti said.
It also offers the province a chance to collaborate on research projects, Tiemstra added.
Atlantic Canada isn’t part of the national organization but is considering rejoining, Caminiti said.
