Federation of Canadian Municipalities

Director Allan Patton  RDOS Area C proposes a Notice of Motion:

That the RDOS Board forward the following motion consideration by the Delegates at the FCM annual general meeting in 2014.

WHEREAS The Okanagan Tree Fruit Industry and the Canadian Horticultural Council Apple Working Group are very concerned about protecting Food Safety and CanadaGap requirements and Asian and European export markets;

AND WHEREAS Certified Organic producers and retailers have expressed grave concerns on the continued existence of their industry;

AND WHEREAS the public are expressing increased scepticism on the purported benefits of GE food and animal feed crops;

AND WHEREAS the Union of BC Municipalities, at their 2013 Annual General Meeting, carried a resolution “to ask the Provincial Government to legislate the prohibition of importing, exporting and growing plants and seeds containing genetically engineered DNA, and raising GE Animals in BC and to declare through legislation that the Province of BC is a GE Free area in respect to all plant and animal species” and an identical resolution in respect to tree fruits was carried at the 2012 UBCM AGM with the addendum to send it to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities for similar consideration by the Federal Government:

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Federation of Canadian Municipalities recommend to the Government of Canada that:

1) A moratorium placed on all present and future Food and Animal Feed Genetically Engineered registration applications. 2) That a non-partisan review be undertaken by Parliament to assess all aspects of GE crops now in existence. 3) That a public and consumer input and consultation process be developed and undertaken across Canada with recommendations presented to parliament for consideration.