Budget 2017: Subsidizing The Phase Out Of Meat In Canada

It was announced in the 2017 Federal budget that there would be millions in spending for so-called “superclusters“. These are just areas of research. One of those was Agri-Foods, which turned out to just be ways to get rid of meat altogether.

At the time of writing this, there are several projects on the go, including:

Strangely, there don’t seem to be many — or any — initiatives to get Canadians into farming, raising animals for food. It’s almost as if things are going in a different direction.

ACCELERATING INNOVATION
THROUGH SUPERCLUSTERS
Clusters—dense areas of business activity that contain large and small companies, post-secondary institutions and specialized talent and infrastructure—energize economies and act as engines of growth. They create jobs, encourage knowledge sharing, drive business specialization and help to attract “anchor” companies from around the world. Successful clusters like the ones in Silicon Valley, Berlin, Tel Aviv and the Toronto-Waterloo corridor contribute significantly to both regional and national economies.

Budget 2017 proposes to invest up to $950 million over five years, starting in 2017–18, to be provided on a competitive basis in support of a small number of business-led innovation “superclusters” that have the greatest potential to accelerate economic growth.

The competition will launch in 2017 and focus on superclusters that enhance Canada’s global competitiveness by focusing on highly innovative industries such as advanced manufacturing, agri-food, clean technology, digital technology, health/bio-sciences and clean resources, as well as infrastructure and transportation.

This is from page 79 of the 2017 budget. So, this wasn’t just some spur of the moment idea. It’s been in the works for a long time. The goal is apparently to generate at least $25 billion per year from sales in plant based foods and materials, according to the 2022-2023 Annual Report from Protein Industries Canada.

It’s fair to assume that production will only ramp up as far as the plant based industry goes. Again, there’s little to no enthusiasm to increase meat production.

Other “superclusters” include: digital technology, advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and oceans (presumably a climate initiative).

On the issue of intellectual property, the following is stated:

“The IP strategy sets out how each Supercluster will strike a balance between providing its members with access to project-generated IP, while protecting the commercial interests of individual project partners, including small-and-medium-sized businesses. This encourages more collaboration and innovation, leading to good commercial outcomes.”

In other words, Canadians are paying to subsidize companies that will keep at least a portion of the IP that they create. It would be interesting to know how exactly this balance would be struck.

Also, this program is open to foreign companies, provided they do at least some business in Canada. However, there aren’t any minimum requirements stated.

And what other money has been handed out lately?

COMPANY DATE SUBJECT AMOUNT
The Alfalfa Inc. Sep 14, 2018 Insecticidal Plant-Based Product $200,997.00
Gfi Brands Inc. Nov 16, 2021 High Nutrition Plant Based Foods $375,018.00
Ingredion Aug 12, 2019 Plant-Based Ingredient Markets $2,145,000.00
Innovation Virentia Inc. Sep 14, 2018 Insecticidal Plant-Based Product $200,997.00
Jewish CC Montreal Aug 9, 2019 Global Certification For Plant-Based Products $819,638.00
Konscious Foods Canada Nov 18, 2021 Plant-Based Seafood Products $36,000.00
Novagevity Inc. Apr 1, 2020 Plant Based Meal Replacement $78,805.00
Novagevity Inc. Dec 22, 2021 Plant Based Beverage $200,311.00
Rps Biologiques Inc. Oct 26, 2021 Plant-Based Fish Meal Additive $23,360.00
Spiderwort Inc. Oct 11, 2021 Plant-Based Fish Fillet $280,000.00
UBC Mar 1, 2022 Pea Proteins, Plant-Based Foods $142,946.00
Vivus Pets Inc. Jan 18, 2022 Gluten Free Plant Based Dog Food $50,000.00

Are we noticing a pattern here?

There are, of course, plenty of eco-nuts who claim that meat must be done away with in order to prevent global warming. It’s almost as if there are different excuses and lies being promoted to drastically change human behaviour. More on that another time.

For some extra reading, here is the last piece on cricket production and subsidies being handed out by the Federal Government.

(1) https://www.proteinindustriescanada.ca/news/how-a-plant-based-seafood-alternative-is-helping-canada-reduce-its-carbon-footprint
(2) https://www.proteinindustriescanada.ca/news/increasing-plant-based-food-and-beverage-options-through-oat-ingredient-innovation
(3) https://www.proteinindustriescanada.ca/news/strategically-increasing-eastern-canadas-processing-capacity
(4) https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/innovation-superclusters-initiative/en/frequently-asked-questions
(5) https://www.budget.gc.ca/2017/docs/plan/budget-2017-en.pdf
(6) Canada Budget 2017 Superclusters
(7) https://www.proteinindustriescanada.ca/uploads/Corporate-Plan-2022-23.pdf
(8) https://search.open.canada.ca/grants/
(9) https://canucklaw.ca/cricket-production-subsidies-aspire-food-group/

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