Talks between the Canadian Cattle Association (CCA) and Alberta Beef Producers (ABP) to keep the Alberta group as a member of the national organization are progressing in the right direction.
That's according to Andrea Brocklebank, CEO of the CCA, who started in the role at the beginning of March.
She says a positive in the process with ABP has been the involvement of other provincial cattle groups over the last few months, "acknowledging that other provinces also had things they saw as opportunities for a refresh in terms of how CCA was, even how our board was structured."
"And so we really took a step back at that point to make sure that all of the provinces, including ABP, came together and were able to communicate a proposed plan and that's really just come forward in the last month for us. We presented it to the board this week and I think things were very positive in the sense that the overall big picture plan is expected to move forward. There was positive support for it at our board.
"So one of the next steps is communicating that back to all the provinces that we accepted most of the recommendations in principle. And as part of that, obviously, it's communicating with Alberta Beef Producers so that they can bring that back to their delegate body, because in their letter, they were pretty specific about outlining some of the areas they wanted to be addressed, and I think this does do that, but ultimately it will be up to their delegate body to consider what we've put forward and decide. But I'm positive that we're heading in the right direction." she said, acknowledging the timing is tight.
The Alberta Beef Producers gave the national cattle group formal notice in August of last year of its intention to withdraw as a member by July 1, 2026, adding they will fulfill all financial obligations up to June 30. A primary concern from ABP was how to sustainably fund the CCA, since ABP currently funds over 50 per cent of CCA's budget through its Alberta Service Charge. Another was a desire to have more Alberta representation in the decision making process.
What ABP proposed during discussions was simplifying the board structure of the Canadian Cattle Association "to some extent" and adding a finance chair and a governance committee, she said.
"And I think a lot of that comes with as boards evolve and change and even how we engage committees and allowing for broader participation from a grassroots level in some of our committees. It's hard to put it into simple details at this point, given it's still got to be moved forward with our board and also the provinces. But I do see those core principles really aligning with a lot of what we see in evolution of commodity boards at this point in time." Brocklebank said.
ABP stated last year they ultimately want to stay on as a member, but are prepared for the possibility of withdrawing. They added the deadline of June 30 gives them enough runway to have their concerns addressed.
The Canadian Cattle Association is comprised of provincial cattle associations from B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island.
