Truck convoy expresses beef with closed border

LETHBRIDGE, B.C., (June 18, 2003) — Alberta beef and livestock haulers are sending U.S. border authorities a message — open the border to Canadian beef exports now.

A convoy of more than 100 tractor-trailers hit the road yesterday, snaking its way to the Coutts border as part of a symbolic drive to highlight the lost revenues and hardships faced by the trucking industry since the U.S. shut out beef and cattle exports after a single cow in Alberta was found to contain mad cow disease over a month ago.

Despite five weeks of research showing the disease has not spread to any other cows in Canada, U.S. officials continue to refuse to lift the ban. The closure has resulted in over $20 million a day in lost revenue for the beef and trucking industries, forcing many carriers out of work or scrambling for a small piece of other livestock sectors.

Adrian Van Reeuwyk, an owner-operator with Vanee Livestock in Fort Macleod, Alta. told the Lethbridge Herald about a quarter of the drivers for Vanee have already been forced to leave the company, and unless the borders are reopened soon, more will follow. While he’s still keeping his head above water hauling pigs and horses to the U.S., he told the paper he’s considering taking out a loan just to pay the bills.

Ed Fetting, CEO of Economic Development Lethbridge — one of the rally’s main organizers — told the Herald the convoy sends a visual message of the effects the border closure is having on the local economy. He also called on the provincial and federal governments to step up with a financial aid package for the trucking industry.

–with files from the Lethbridge Herald