The Saskatchewan Slaughter Plant Initiative is targeting the summer to fall of this year to begin the construction of a one million head per year capacity primary pork processing plant in Saskatoon's North Industrial area, expandable to two million head on a double shift.

Initiative chairman Jim Ramsay says suggests Country of Origin Labelling will actually provide an advantage in helping to differentiate a branded Saskatchewan product.

Jim Ramsay-Saskatchewan Slaughter Plant Initiative

From a production point of view and processing Country of Origin Labelling, for us, we see as an advantage because, when we've done our marketing analysis and we've looked at branding options and other things, we do not see it as a disadvantage to us.

We're just going to be differentiated in the market and that's what our plan calls for so we do not see that as a negative or a deterrent to us.

I can't claim to have a whole lot of understanding or knowledge of what goes on when you're shipping cross border with U.S. government but I think anybody who is up, who and lives in this province and understands the shipping issues when livestock is crossing the border realizes that it always is uncertain.

You never really know what the American, the U.S. government is going to do to protect their market and we hear about these trade issues all the time.

So being able to process hogs in Saskatchewan, to develop the meat, to brand it, to ship it out as a finished product we think brings just so much stability to the whole hog production and pork production sector.

Ramsay considers Country of Origin Labeling to be just one part of why it makes so much sense to be processing pork at home in Saskatchewan.

He says the group is convinced this is a very important initiative and the timing couldn't be better than right now to go ahead with it.