Chamber’s food trade pilot a first step

and this issue came out,” explained TeriLynn MacKie, executive director of the chamber.

“We should be able to sell our products in all of Lloydminster, not just one side or the other without it being inter-provincial trade.”

The chamber hosted a question and answer meeting about the Lloydminster food trade pilot in the OTS Room at the Servus Sports Centre on Jan. 26 with all of the key players on hand, including the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).

Red tape, be gone. That’s the rallying cry of the Lloydminster Chamber of Commerce that is leading a twoyear pilot to make inter- provincial food trade seamless throughout the city.

“We had a round table

“To make Lloydminster one city for trade is a huge accomplishment and we are super excited to partner with Alberta and Saskatchewan and CFIA to make this happen,” said MacKie.

The CFIA published a notice of intent on Jan. 16 to amend the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations to address Lloydminster’s unique situation.

The goal of the pilot is for safe food to move into and within the city as if there were no provincial border.

Natasha Richard, manager of food safety requirements and guidance with CFIA in Ottawa, called the pilot a great milestone for Lloydminster.

“The food pilot is open to all types of food, but there are certain types of eligibility the provinces have set,” she explained.

Currently, in the safe food regulations, any food that moves across a provincial or territorial border would need to have a Safe Food for Canadians licence.

“By the end of the pilot project, the regulations will have been amended and there will be a permanent solution to the issues for Lloydminster in terms of interprovincial trade,” said Richard.

Diamond 7 Meats coowner, Aron Lundquist, was buoyed by what he learned at the meeting.

“Having the freedom to move within our own city trade region is going to be an enormous step and it will be the first step, of hopefully many, to improve the quality of trade within Lloydminster,” said Lundquist.

He says the amendment will provide clarity to allow for the resale of their products to other businesses within the city of Lloydminster.

“It’s a great day. Anytime we can improve our relations inter-provincially and have it recognized federally as well, it’s a huge step,” he said.

“We applaud the Chamber of Commerce for their hard work in making this happen on our behalf.”

Vermilion-Lloydminster-Wainwright MLA, Garth Rowswell, called the pilot a big deal and hopes it will lead to even fewer trade barriers.

“If this works well, maybe we could expand it and cover a bigger area and try to harmonize the regulation between Saskatchewan and Alberta,” said Rowswell.

“If we could create a free trade zone between Saskatchewan and Alberta, wouldn’t that be nice?”

Katlin Ducherer, economic development officer for the City of Lloydminster, is also hopeful the pilot will morph into something bigger.

“It’s one step right now to help quantify and grab the data that’s required to hopefully make further change,” she said.

Ducherer says what the pilot will do is allow businesses that register on the chamber website to take part, and come into Lloydminster and trade within the boundaries of the city.

The CFIA amendment, however, would not apply to Saskatchewan or Alberta businesses that prepare food for export or interprovincial trade outside of the city limits.

“We know our retail trading area is 136,000 in our primary area. If we are not allowing trade within that trade area, then Lloydminster business could be at a disadvantage,” said Ducherer.

Lloydminster Mayor Gerald Aalbers said in a phone interview, the city believes there’s a potential for resolution, noting it’s important for both provinces to work with the federal government on this file.

“As the provincial minister of agriculture said to me ‘once you guys open the gate would swing open for the rest of Canada.’ That’s a really important piece, and what we’re doing here will have a direct impact on our city, but we are setting the trend for Canada.”