Broad Stakeholder Input Key as Pork Sector Prepares for Pig Code of Practice Update

The Executive Director of the Canadian Pork Council suggests open honest communication and broad stakeholder input will be key as the next update of Canada's Pig Code of Practice gets underway. In 2014 Canada's Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Pigs was updated, the biggest change being the shift to group sow housing, it was then reviewed in 2019 and the next update is scheduled for 2025.

Canadian Pork Council Executive Director Stephen Heckbert says, as the sector prepares, the main priority is long-term economic viability and the best way to ensure that is no surprises.

Quote-Stephen Heckbert-Canadian Pork Council:

One of the key lessons we've learned out of that is we have to communicate more. We have to talk more to producers, we've got to make sure producers know what’s happening at the table, that they have a point of view and that we've heard their point of view about what they want to talk about and what their priorities are going to be.

We've been taking a lot of time doing some homework, talking to folks and just be open and honest and upfront in our communications. We've formed an internal technical committee with producers across the country who are sort of our lead in forming our priorities and talking about what it is we're trying to do.
We've now formed the committee that will do that work.

It's going to probably have its first in person meeting early next year, probably April-May time frame.But, again, it's really about making sure that we get out there, we talk to producers at producer meetings organized by their provincial pork organizations or other events.Franky, if a producer out their has comments or questions don't hesitate to reach out to your local pork organization or reach out to us at CPC. We want to have that engagement; we want to have those conversations.

Heckbert says it's about making sure we've heard from pork producers and listened to the science.He encourages producers who have questions or comments related to the update to reach out to their provincial pork organizations or to the Canadian Pork Council.