Responsibilities of the federal departments and agencies
The Canadian dairy industry comprises several federal stakeholders, including:
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, which conducts research on dairy products and herds, develops policies, manages programs and promotes markets and the rural sector;
- Global Affairs Canada, which manages tariff rate quotas on imports of dairy products, and import permits;
- Canada Border Services Agency, which classifies dairy products and establishes the value of imported goods according to tariff rate quotas;
- Canadian Food Inspection Agency, which sets standards for dairy products and classifies them, inspects production plants, sets regulations on packaging and nutritional labelling, and ensures veterinary health of the herds and the safety of dairy products.
The provincial milk marketing boards
The provincial milk marketing boards manage the production and marketing of milk in their respective provinces, as well as at the interprovincial level. The provincial governments delegate statutory milk marketing management powers to provincial marketing agencies or boards. Although their responsibilities vary from province to province, in general the provincial organizations issue permits and allocate milk quotas to producers and set or negotiate milk prices in order to determine the revenues of dairy farmers. For more complete information, please contact the provincial milk marketing boards.