Alberta Warns Federal Pandemic Prevention Bill Could ‘Devastate’ Agricultural Sector

Alberta Warns Federal Pandemic Prevention Bill Could ‘Devastate’ Agricultural Sector
The Canadian flag blows on the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on June 28, 2024. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick
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The Alberta government is warning that aspects of a federal pandemic prevention bill before Parliament encroach on the province’s constitutional jurisdiction, posing a particular threat to its agricultural industry.

Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation Minister RJ Sigurdson told a press conference Bill C-293, the Pandemic Prevention and Preparedness Act, “singles out” the agricultural industry and would give the federal government authority “to allow public health officials to shut down facilities like livestock operations and meat processing plants without clear objective criteria.”