WASHINGTON — The White House says it is treating the shortage of infant formula as a top priority — a crisis experts say is one more symptom of North America’s new era of “managed trade.”

And there is growing concern that Canada could be side-swiped by the rush to action in the United States. 

Over the weekend, military transports ferried more than 35,000 kilograms of prescription-grade formula into the U.S. from Europe, with more shipments on the way. 

And President Joe Biden has invoked the Defense Production Act, a 1950s-era military procurement law, to ensure U.S. manufacturers can get the necessary raw materials to ramp up production. 

The shortage was triggered by the shutdown in February of a key plant in Michigan, but international trade experts say the real issue is that the U.S. industry is controlled by only a handful of major players.

Brian Deese, director of the White House National Economic Council, says too few U.S. companies wield too much control over the supply chain. 

“Right now, our focus is on getting that formula out to the families that need it,” Deese told CNN on Monday. 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Ottawa is monitoring the situation closely for fear that the U.S. efforts could end up making the shortage in Canada even worse. 

“We need to make sure that we’re looking for solutions here in Canada,” Trudeau said last week. 

Canada’s largest formula manufacturing plant is the Chinese-owned Canada Royal Milk facility in Kingston, Ont., but 100 per cent of its output is exported for domestic sale in China. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 24, 2022.

The Canadian Press

VANCOUVER — The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has confirmed two more outbreaks of avian influenza in small flocks — one in southern British Columbia and the other in southeastern Alberta.

A statement from the agency says the H5N1 strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza was identified Saturday in the flock in Cypress County, Alta., and on Sunday among birds in the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen in B.C.

The B.C. case came one day after 4,000 turkeys on a Fraser Valley farm were due to be euthanized as avian flu was verified last week on two commercial poultry farms in B.C.’s poultry producing hub of Abbotsford.

Data from the food inspection agency shows the outbreak is the 12th recorded in B.C. since the province’s first case on April 13.

The infection in Cypress County, near Medicine Hat, is the 29th in Alberta but the first in more than a week.

The agency warns that the so-called bird flu is spreading globally and outbreaks have been confirmed in every province except Prince Edward Island.

However, only B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec have recorded new cases in May.

Poultry owners are being advised to use strict infection control measures and to take precautions to keep their flocks separate, secure and unable to mix with wild birds, which are believed to be carrying the virus.

A wildlife centre in central Alberta said last week that it was caring for four young foxes that likely picked up avian flu after eating carcasses of birds that died of the illness, and there was concern more scavengers could become ill.

The food inspection agency said no human cases of avian flu have been detected.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 24, 2022.

The Canadian Press