Prairie Meat Processors Receive Federal Funding for COVID Safety Measures

Twenty-four meat processing plants in Western Canada applied for and received $7.8 million to improve employee safety.

“Companies are using the funds to make adjustments to enable social distancing, to purchase PPE (personal protective equipment), to install protective barriers, to increase sanitation and to train their employees,” said Jim Carr, Manitoba Liberal MP and a special representative for the Prairies in the federal cabinet.

Winkler Meats in Manitoba is receiving up to $1,447,663 from the federal program.

“We are upgrading the harvest side of our facility,” said Dickson Gould, president of Winkler Meats. “With increased social distancing, we will be able to definitely increase the supply coming to our plant, almost to the magnitude of 50 percent expansion on our supply side.”

Winkler Meats primarily processes sows, which means more animals will remain in Canada rather than trucked to plants in Wisconsin, Tennessee and other U.S. states. Gould says it’s good to keep the value-added opportunities at home.

Sixteen companies in Alberta received funding along with five in Manitoba and three in Saskatchewan. The complete list is below:

Alberta

· Aliya’s Foods Limited – $406,999

· Bouvry Export Calgary Ltd. – $27,150

· Bry-Conn Developments Inc. – $16,576

· Canada Lamb Processors Ltd.- $22,404

· Cut-Rite Meats Ltd. – $71,432

· Forestburg Meat Processing Inc. – $137,271

· Harmony Beef Company Limited – $88,134

· Irvings Farm Fresh Ltd. – $44,250

· JBS Food Canada – $804,912

· Provost Packers Ltd. – $49,980

· Ryley Sausage (1991) Ltd. – $44,182

· Serben Farms – $14,500

· Soleterra d’Italia – $231,096

· Spolumbo’s Fine Foods & Deli – $69,472

· Trochu Meat Processors Ltd. – $63,287

· Viva Deli Inc. – $70,184

Saskatchewan

· Drake Meat Processors Inc. – $49,500

· Pineview All Natural Meats Inc. – $40,000

· Prairie Pride Natural Foods Ltd. – $14,175

Manitoba

· 6381023 Manitoba Ltd. – $320,000

· East 40 Packers Ltd. – $99,999

· HyLife Ltd. – $3,670,334

· Timothy’s Country Butcher Shop – $32,174

· Winkler Meats Ltd. – $1,447,693

In addition to these projects, Olymel, a Canadian meat packing and processing company headquartered in Quebec, is receiving up to $1.6 million through the Emergency Processing Fund, with a portion of the funding being used to support improved safety measures at its facilities in Alberta and Saskatchewan.