The Rural Voice, 1999-11, Page 16Another small
business dies and
another shop sits
empty on main street. Is
the province to blame''
Mike Beretta loved the
idea of owning his own
business, of operating it
with his wife and perhaps
some day, many years
down the road. having his
children take over.
When he opened
Beretta's Butcher Shop in
February of 1998, he was
a welcome addition to
Brussels downtown, not
just for his contributions
to local organizations. but
for his and his wife
Cynthia's fresh approach
to commerce.
Earlier this fall, faced
with new government
regulations at his abattoir
that would prove costly to
meet, Beretta made the
difficult decision to close.
Without the abattoir, the
butcher shop didn't make
economic sense so he
closed it too.
The problem goes back
a,few years to when the
province decided to adopt
the federal standards for
abattoirs placing costly
and unrealistic demands
on owners like Beretta.
Canada regulations had
obvious high standards as
they dealt with export
businesses. Thus, the
province had to make
changes to come up to that
level, which as a result is
putting the pressure on
small and medium-sized
abattoirs to meet those
standards.
"Province -wide
regulations have painted
all abattoirs with the same
brush," Beretta said.
"They want us to meet
federal standards which
have no bearing on small
operations."
The primary frustration
for Beretta was that the
regulations require money
spent with virtually no
12 THE RURAL VOICE
To hold on or give up?
Faced with expensive changes to meet
strict requirements yet assurances it
won't be so bad after all, small abattoir
owners are teff with a dilemma
By Bonnie Gropp
return. "It is not viable at
all and there isn't the cash
flow for those things," he
said.
Some of the provincial
guidelines for Beretta's
included the construction
of steel pens instead of
wood, new washrooms, an
extended cooler with
another door, floor drains
and paved driveway.
There was, he felt, no
room for negotiation.
Currently, the Ontario
regulations required that
provincially inspected
abattoirs and packers meet
85 per cent compliance by
April I, 2000.
Many have already
taken steps to meet the
regulations. said Dr. Tom
Baker, of the Ontario
Meat Inspection Branch.
Dr. Baker, who has been
working with the national
code committee, said the
date for 100 per cent
compliance, however.
may have some flexibility
because of the national
standard.
"There has been some
discussion within the
industry regarding the
compliance timetable. I
don't think any decision
has been made, but I
would think they will be
cautious so these abattoirs
do not over -invest to meet
the provincial standards,
which might be eased
when the national code
comes into effect."
Dr. Baker emphasizes
that the national code not
be confused with the
federal inspection act.
"We are talking about a
national standard for meat
and poultry inspection.
that allows for trade
within the country. There
is a strong political will
for this."
The committee is
holding another round of
discussions this winter,
with the hope that the
national code will be in
place by next fall. This
could then be introduced
into the Ontario Meat
Inspection Act allowing
for a greater degree of
flexibility.
"At the end of the day
we hope for a standard
that's less prescriptive,
that allows more
flexibility in how to meet
the food standards."
Leo Rochelleau,
president of the Ontario
Independent Meat
Processors, said meetings
with the Ministry to try
and ease the industry into