For immediate release:

May 6, 2005 (Toronto) – The Vegetable Oil Industry of Canada (VOIC) advises that a three member panel will hear Alberta’s complaint against Quebec under the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) regarding Quebec’s margarine colour regulation in Montreal on May 9, 2005. The governments of Saskatchewan and Manitoba are also supporting Alberta’s interprovincial trade challenge.

"VOIC commends Alberta, and Manitoba and Saskatchewan for their supportive intervention, for continued leadership in eliminating interprovincial trade barriers and enforcing the dispute resolution provisions of the Agreement on Internal Trade", said Sean McPhee, President of VOIC.

The federal, provincial and territorial governments signed the AIT in 1994 to eliminate internal barriers to trade within Canada in recognition that, internationally, Canada is a free trader under its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments.

The Quebec margarine colour regulation was identified as a trade barrier in 1997 because it prohibits the manufacture and sale of margarine that resembles the same colour as butter. In that year, the Quebec government tabled a draft regulation to repeal the margarine colour regulation, but failed to follow through with the repeal, notwithstanding its AIT obligations and repeated demands by industry and other governments to abide by its AIT obligations.

VOIC asked Alberta to launch an AIT complaint against Quebec regarding the margarine colour regulation in 2003 because Alberta margarine makers could not sell their product into Quebec without incurring the additional cost of producing a margarine in a separate colour solely for the Quebec market. In addition, the Alberta canola industry, which is also being impacted negatively by the color regulation, notes that margarine’s share of the Quebec spreads market (butter plus margarine) is significantly below margarine’s share of the national spreads market on a volume basis.

The Panel is comprised of: Bill Norrie of Winnipeg (Chair), Chris Thomas of Vancouver and Lynne Burnham of Saint John. The Panel is mandated to examine whether the Quebec margarine colour regulation is inconsistent with provisions of the AIT and should be repealed. The Panel hearing will begin at 9:00 A.M. on May 9th and will be held at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth, 900 Rene Levesque Ouest, Montreal, Quebec in the Mackenzie Room. The hearing is open to the public. A decision is expected by late June 2005.

VOIC (Vegetable Oil Industry of Canada) is an industry group representing 75,000 oilseed growers across Canada, oilseed processors and suppliers of fats and oils to the food industry, and makers of oilseed-based food products, such as margarine, cooking oil, salad dressing, mayonnaise and dessert toppings.  Members include the Canadian Canola Growers Association, the Canadian Oilseed Processors Association, Archer Daniel Midland Agri-Industries Ltd., Bunge Canada, Canbra Foods, Cargill Limited, AarhusKarlshamn US and Canada, Loders Croklaan, Unilever Canada and Rich Products Corporation.

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For Information:

Sean McPhee
VOIC 416-214-1232