By Alice McFarlane

Agriculture Roundup for Thursday March 31, 2022

Mar 31, 2022 | 9:41 AM

MELFORT, Sask. — The British Columbia Agriculture Ministry said it is ending the COVID-19 quarantine program for temporary foreign workers. It added it would keep a different program for another year to support self-isolation to curb the spread of the virus.

The ministry said the program for seasonal agriculture workers ends today with the easing of federal travel restrictions and high vaccination rates for incoming workers that allow them to go directly to their farms.

The employer must ensure federal quarantine requirements are met for unvaccinated or partially vaccinated workers.

The Health Ministry reported six deaths related to COVID-19 yesterday, bringing the total number of fatalities to 2,996.

On Tuesday, there were 273 people in hospital and 46 in intensive care.

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A class-action lawsuit has been filed against the largest beef suppliers in Canada for allegedly conspiring to restrict competition and raise prices on beef sold in Quebec.

The lawsuit was filed by the Belleau Lapointe law firm on March 24 in Quebec Superior Court.

It alleged various companies related to Cargill Inc., JBS Canada ULC, Tyson Food Inc. and National Beef Packing Co LLC acted together to restrict competition related to the production, supply or sale of beef in the province since Jan. 1, 2015.

The lawsuit, which still has to be certified by a judge, is seeking financial compensation equivalent to revenues generated by the artificially inflated portion of selling prices.

The plaintiffs said the meat-packing plants control 85 per cent of the Canadian beef market and 80 per cent of the U.S. market.

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The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association elected its new leadership team at the annual general meeting in Ottawa.

The new president is Reg Schellenberg of Saskatchewan, while Nathan Phinney of New Brunswick was elected vice president.

Schellenberg takes over from Bob Lowe of Alberta, who now moves into the past president’s role. Lowe will continue to chair the Public and Stakeholder Engagement program.

The CCA also welcomed new board members Doug Roxburg, Melissa Downing, and Brad Ozadczuk from Alberta, Philip Lynn from Saskatchewan and Jason LeBlond of Ontario.

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alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @farmnewsNOW