"By promoting innovation in agriculture, including biotechnology, as well as open global trade, our Government is making sure that families around the world have access to the safe and nutritious food they need," said Minister Ritz. "We need to produce more food, more efficiently. Canadian farmers are well equipped to do this if there is unrestricted trade of food products, based on science-based, international standards."
Following Minister Ritz's leadership, Canada's delegation worked tirelessly to have included mention of innovative agricultural practices and technologies as a solution to increasing global food production, in the Kazan Declaration on APEC Food Security. Minister Ritz endorsed the Declaration and reconfirmed Canada's support in helping to ensure a safe, high-quality, and dependable food supply to meet the needs of a growing global population.
At APEC, Canadian officials underscored the importance of developing domestic low-level presence (LLP) policies. Minister Ritz appreciated that the importance of continuing work on LLP was recognized by ministers in the Food Security Ministerial Declaration. He was also pleased to see this important topic on the agenda of the High Level Policy Dialogue on Agricultural Biotechnology held prior to the Ministerial meeting and welcomed the participation of the Canada Grains Council representative as a panellist.
APEC is a forum of 21 economies that seeks to promote free trade and economic co-operation throughout the Asia-Pacific region. APEC represents 40% of the world's population and accounts for 54% of global GDP.
For more information, media may contact:
Media Relations
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Ottawa, Ontario
613-773-7972
1-866-345-7972
Meagan Murdoch
Director of Communications
The Office of the Honourable Gerry Ritz
613-773-1059
