(Press release) Agropur coopérative of Saint-Hubert receives support to improve worker safety through Emergency Processing Fund

Today, Sherry Romanado, Member of Parliament for Longueuil-Charles-LeMoyne, announced on behalf of the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Marie-Claude Bibeau, an amount of up to $ 315,810 for Agropur cooperative of Saint -Hubert to improve worker safety and strengthen the resilience of the food supply chain.

The $77.5 million Emergency Processing Fund (EPF) announced May 5, 2020 by  Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, is focused on projects to help companies respond to the urgent health and safety needs of workers in agri-food sectors impacted by COVID-19, with an emphasis on supporting meat processing facilities.

With this funding, recipients are adopting measures to help keep employees safe and increase their capacity. This includes making adjustments to enable social distancing, purchasing reuseable personal protective equipment (PPE), increasing cleaning, improving air circulation within their facilities and developing employee training. These improvements are supporting the food self-sufficiency in Quebec by helping processors secure their operation.

The Government of Canada will continue working with food processors to ensure the well-being of essential workers in food processing plants across Canada while strengthening the resilience of our food supply chain.

Quotes

“I am very happy to announce this funding to Agropur cooperative de Saint-Hubert. These amounts from the EPF will allow companies like Agropur to continue to protect the health and safety of workers and their families due to the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, ensuring that these businesses in the agri-food sectors remain open while ensuring the safety of their workers remains a priority for our government. ”

– Sherry Romanado, Member of Parliament for Longueuil-Charles-LeMoyne

“Canadian food processors are essential in ensuring the protection of Canada’s food supply chain during and after COVID-19,” said Bibeau. “Our government understands the challenges faced by Canadian processors, producers and manufacturers. This Emergency Processing Fund will help our processors adapt their operations to ensure the safety of their workers and increase their production capacity. ”

– The Honorable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

Quick Facts

  • This funding includes 18 previously announced projects through the Emergency Processing Fund in Quebec.
  • Announced in May 2020, the $77.5-million Emergency Processing Fund is helping food processors implement measures to protect the health and safety of workers and their families in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with an emphasis on supporting meat processing facilities in Canada. The Fund also supports facility upgrades to help strengthen Canada’s food supply. A further $10 million is expected to be allocated from internal funds, which would bring the total to $87.5M.
  • The Quebec Food Processing Council supports delivery of the Emergency Processing Fund in Quebec
  • There are over 2,400 food processing businesses in Québec, representing a wide range of sectors, producing approximately $1.3 billion in sales per year and supporting more than 11,500 jobs.
  • Today’s announcement builds on other measures introduced to keep Canada’s agri-workforce strong, including:
    • almost $85 million in funding for the Mandatory Isolation Support Program for Temporary Foreign Workers to assist Canadian employers with some of the incremental costs associated with the mandatory 14-day isolation period imposed under the Quarantine Act on temporary foreign workers upon entering Canada; and,
    • a $35-million Emergency On-Farm Support Fund to boost protections for domestic and temporary foreign workers and address COVID-19 outbreaks on farms.