Dear XXX XXX,
I would like to congratulate you on your recent election/re-election as Member of Parliament for our riding of XXXXXXX.I wish you the best of luck as you undertake the important job of representing our community in Ottawa.
My company is (company name), a (grower, grower-shipper, packer, distributor, retailer, food service operator) of (commodities). We employ XXX people in (town, area of riding). (Feel free to add other details on your operations, such as value of sales, things the company supports or sponsors in the community, if you company exports, etc).
You will soon be making important decisions on policies and programs of great importance to our community and the produce industry. I would like to take this time to let you know about issues that our important to our company.
A critical issue for the future of the fresh fruit and vegetable industry is the lack of payment protection for produce sellers in Canada and the related loss on October 1st, 2014 of preferential access to the programs under the United States Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) for Canadian fruit and vegetable exporters. The produce industry was thrilled by the commitment of your leader Thomas Mulcair in July that an NDP government would introduce a payment protection program for produce growers like PACA that will allow sellers to maintain an ownership trust until payment has been received and would negotiate with the US to restore Canada’s privileged access to PACA protections. This commitment echoed the industry’s preferred solution and we hope that your Party will hold the new government to account to enact the similar commitment the Liberal Party made during the campaign.
Access to labour has been a growing issue for the produce industry, made more challenging by changes over the past few years to the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program. The industry appreciated the recognition of your party of the damage that TFW changes caused and your pledge that an NDP government would work with farmers, ranchers and food processors to implement the Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food Workforce Action Plan and to bring in workers as immigrants or as TFWs with a pathway to citizenship when needed. We hope that we can count on your support to encourage the new government to make the necessary changes to the TFW Program so that we can ensure a consistent supply of labour so that the industry can provide the steady supply of fresh fruits and vegetables that Canadians expect.
Access to affordable, nutritious food is a prerequisite for healthy families and communities. Fruits and vegetables can reduce the risk of chronic disease and obesity, placing less demand on publicly funded systems including healthcare. But Canadians do not eat adequate amounts of fruits and vegetables as recommended by Canada’s Food Guide. Three focus areas that are critical for success in encouraging produce consumption have been identified by health stakeholders: common messaging under a common approach, improving food skills and children’s programs. We hope that as an MP you will support policy that helps to increase fresh fruit and vegetable consumption to improve the health of Canadians.
I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to visit our operations. We would be pleased to host you and give you a tour of our facilities and show you firsthand what we do. We are also always happy to answer questions. To schedule a visit or should you ever need more information on our company or how policies affect our operations, please don’t hesitate to contact me at (phone and email).