Egg Farmers of Canada announces the creation of a research chair in public policy

University of Waterloo’s Bruce Muirhead will lead national research on industry policy and the value of supply management

OTTAWA, November 14, 2014 – Egg Farmers of Canada is pleased to announce a new partnership with the University of Waterloo, establishing Bruce Muirhead as the industry’s first-ever research chair in public policy.

“We are delighted to be working with Professor Muirhead. With the creation of this Chair, we hope to continually elevate the calibre of the dialogue on supply management and ensure that any future policy decisions that could affect supply managed commodities are as informed as possible,” said Tim Lambert, Chief Executive Officer of Egg Farmers of Canada.

Prof. Muirhead will be developing a research program in public policy that relates to the current and future challenges faced by Canadian egg farmers, providing historical context to the growing conversation about the value of supply management for all Canadians.

“This Chair will allow me to fully engage in the discourse surrounding supply management and its obvious benefits to Canadian consumers and processors, as well as farmers,” said Bruce Muirhead.

“This approach is increasingly important given Canadian involvement in various trade negotiations where supply management needs to be understood for its value and benefits to the entire food chain.”

Egg Farmers of Canada’s contribution to the University of Waterloo will serve these goals by investing in students, research and dialogue around public policy issues.

“Partnerships like this are a valuable element of transformational research at Waterloo. This chair will stimulate high-quality research and international dialogue that will, in turn, generate new knowledge to serve the needs of the egg farming industry,” said D. George Dixon, vice-president, university research, University of Waterloo. “This collaboration underscores the significance and impact of research at Waterloo, and I congratulate Bruce and Egg Farmers of Canada on their success.”

Bruce Muirhead is associate vice president, external research, and a professor in the department of history at the University of Waterloo. He has written extensively on Canadian trade negotiations since the Second World War, as well as Canadian politics, diplomacy, economic and international development. His recent work, funded by the Norwegian Research Council, has focused on the evolution of Canadian agricultural policy and on supply management in particular, which he views as a most sensible and rational system governing certain types of agricultural production.