President’s Message

As we enter into the “new normal” we can’t help but think of how blessed we are to have such a competent health care system leading our country. Our numbers have remained relatively lower than most first world countries and for that we are grateful.

If you were fortunate enough to remain physically healthy during the peak of this pandemic, one can not deny the mental strain that this has had on all of us. Whether it was the temporary change of business models, reduction in revenues or the fear of a plant outbreak, it created many sleepless nights.

MPO has many tools that can help facilitate some of the issues mentioned above and then some. Although it won’t solve all the issues in your plant, a little peace of mind can go a long way. We are here to help.

Stay safe,

Carol

Carol Goriup, President

Its’s hard to believe that over 6 months has passed since the world experienced the fist pandemic since SARS. From my recollection of SARS, it was short lived, and it wasn’t long before we resumed everyday life. Today there is a lot more uncertainty with COVID. There is no clear end in sight, and we know that there will be many more “new realities” that have yet to be revealed. This brings a lot of fragility to the sector.

During this time, we need to be assessing our business lines to better understand what we do and why we do it. At the end of 2019, we were talking to the Federal and Provincial governments about strategies to grow the sector. We knew there were fragile aspects of our sector that needed to be addressed. There were challenges the collection of hides posed on abattoirs with the closing of Barret Hides. Capacity pressures were felt by Beef farmers when one of our largest abattoirs closed their doors. COVID has certainly highlighted the urgency with which we need to address these issues.

MPO has responded by developing a plan to work with the government to fill the gaps that exist today and to grow the meat and poultry sector by $500 million in the next 5-10 years. The plan includes programming to provide day to day supports; grants to invest in growth, innovation and automation; and developing a Meat-Tech Innovation and Education Centre. The new Meat-Tech Centre will train the next generation of entrepreneurs, attract and train workers for our sector, and find and develop technologies to help meat and poultry processors be amongst the most efficient in the world. Learn more about this and other initiatives MPO is working on at our upcoming virtual AGM in October as we recap 2019 and lay the foundation for 2021 and beyond.

Franco Naccarato, Executive Director

VISION A sustainable, respectful and diverse food system that celebrates the nutritional and economic value of meat and poultry.

MISSION We strengthen the meat and poultry industry in Ontario by connecting people, influencing change and empowering our members.

MPO LIFETIME MEMBERS • Doris Valade (2019) • Gerry Houtzager (2003) • Laurie Nicol (2018) • Leo Rocheleau (2001) • Joe Abate (2017) • Jim Vidoczy (2000) • Brian Quinn (2016) • Nancy Ackert (1997) • Graham Dalziel (2015) • Dr. Ron Usborne (1996) • Tony Facciolo (2011) • Ron Deeth (1995) • Pat Johnson (2005)

MPO LONG TIME MEMBERS Thank you to our long time members who have been helping move the industry forward for over 25 years. • Ontario Pork, Guelph • Barron Poultry, (1980) Amherstburg (1991) • Gord’s Abattoir, • Brenner Packers,

Leamington (1982) Windsor (1991) • L’Orignal Packing, • Norwich Packers,

L’Orignal (1986) Norwich (1991) • MMIS/MONDO, Aurora • Weston Abattoir, (1986) Maidstone (1991) • Nitta Casings, Markham • Handtmann Canada, (1986) Waterloo (1992) • Walnut Hill Farms, Gads • Hay’s Custom Cutting,

Hill (1986) Campbellford (1992) • VG Meats, Simcoe (1987) • Hoffman Meats & • Rothsay, Dundas (1988) European Deli, • Stemmler Meat & Stayner (1992)

Cheese, Heidelberg (1988) • Newmarket Meat • Chicken Farmers of Packers, Newmarket

Ontario, Burlington (1992) (1989) • WIBERG Corporation, • Jetnet Norstar, Toronto Oakville (1992) (1989) • Schinkel’s Legacy, • Schinkels’ Gourmet Chatam (1993)

Meats, Chatham (1989) • Windcrest Meat Packers, • Springer’s Meats, Port Perry (1994)

Hamilton (1989) • Malabar Super Spice, Burlington (1994)

MEAT INDUSTRY ACHIEVEMENT (MIA) AWARD RECIPIENTS • Hayter’s Farm, Dashwood • Springer’s Meats, (2016) Hamilton (2010) • Schinkel’s Legacy, • VG Meats, Simcoe (2009)

Chatham (2014) • Stemmler’s Meat & • Conestoga Meat Packers, Cheese, Heidelberg

Breslau (2013) (2008) • In Memory of Dave Tiller • Leo Rocheleau, (2012) Maidstone (2007) • Halenda’s Fine Foods,

Oshawa (2011)

ASSOCIATE MEMBER RECOGNITION AWARD (AMRA) RECIPIENTS

Reiser Canada, Burlington (2019) VC999, Saint-Germain-deGrantham (2018) Handtmann Canada, Waterloo (2017) Malabar Super Spice, Burlington (2016) www.meatpoultryon.ca