Saskatchewan backs retaliatory measures against U.S. over COOL
by The Canadian Press
Provincial Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart called controversial regulation a protectionist measure
REGINA—Saskatchewan says it supports the federal government’s proposed retaliatory measures against the United States over country-of-origin labelling (COOL) on meat.
Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart says Canada and the U.S. depend on one another for the shared success of the agriculture industries.
Stewart says the controversial COOL regulation is a protectionist measure that has cost Canadian producers billions and will continue to be a hardship.
The labelling rules are blamed for complicating the import of meat and livestock into the U.S. from Canada and for reducing the amount of Canadian exports to the country by half since 2008.
U.S. lawmakers have refused to change the rules, which require detailed labels about the origins of beef, pork and chicken sold in stores.
