MCC mobile meat canning to proceed, for now

Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Canada has received confirmation from Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) spokesperson, Dr. Richard Arsenault, that it is allowed to proceed with its scheduled meat canning sessions to the end of 2005.

On March 2, the CFIA announced that it was enforcing an immediate ban on mobile meat canning facilities in Canada, effectively cancelling MCC canning events scheduled for Ontario and Manitoba in April and November.

Concerns expressed by MCC staff and supporters played an important role in the agency’s decision on March 15 to allow the completion of MCC’s 2005 canning schedule. In a conversation with Bill Janzen, director of the MCC Ottawa Office, Dr. Arsenault expressed his regret for the abruptness with which the agency delivered the news, and said, “[while] we feel we have to close the door, we did not mean to slam it shut.”

MCC has complied with all CFIA regulations regarding mobile meat canning since it first started canning in Guelph, Ontario nine years ago. However, the discovery of a case of BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) in Alberta in 2003 has put CFIA under international scrutiny. The government agency is facing severe restrictions on meat products leaving this country. The decision to ban mobile meat canners was sudden and unexpected, leaving the planners of the 2005 canning schedule in a predicament. The extension of the ban application deadline to the end of the current year creates an important window of opportunity to finish the planned schedule and to explore options with the CFIA.

According to Don Peters, executive director of MCC Canada, “This ruling does not mean there will be no further canning in Canada. We will continue to can. However, it does mean we will be in further dialogue with the minister of agriculture and CFIA to discover whether there is a way to continue mobile canning or whether we will need to develop more permanent setups.”

Canned meat has become a symbol of MCC’s commitment to humanitarian aid around the world. MCC has sponsored meat-canning events in the United States since the 1940s, and in 1997, Canada held its first MCC canning event. Each year, the mobile canner makes 37 stops across North America where volunteers work together to produce 500,000 tins of beef, pork and turkey. The meat provides much-needed protein for pregnant and nursing women, children and the elderly in countries dealing with economic uncertainty and war.

—Tara Tharayil, MCC Canada