Industry Profile: Ryder Lee

by Matthew Wright

In mid-October, Ryder Lee attended a few of the MCPA District Meetings.
Lee is the Manager of Federal and Provincial Relations with the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA).

He says the sway of Canadian cattlemen lies in their ability to direct sound policy through their provincial associations, and it’s that direction that guides the national association it its dealings on Parliament Hill.

While in Manitoba, Lee gave a presentation on the state of Canada’s cattle industry that included the latest COOL information and its effects and the efforts being undertaken to expand into foreign markets.

For the past three years at the CCA, Lee has worked with policy makers, Members of Parliament, Ministers and their staff ensuring that they are kept informed about the issues facing the cattle industry and offers possible solutions.

The fact that agriculture encompasses a broad spectrum of commodities, industry groups and related associations, makes Lee’s job that much more difficult. Throw in the personal or business agendas involved and the arena gets that much more complicated.
“We meet with policy makers, MP’s, their staff, staff from Ag Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Environment Canada and Health Canada as well as other industry players involved in the hog or dairy industry (as we have somewhat of a common cause),” he said, adding that the need for communication goes both ways.

Lee said it’s instrumental that while the government hears the concerns coming from the grassroots, producers must also be made aware of the goings on in their government and the CCA. He and colleague John Masswohl, strive to make that happen.

Lee is a firm believer in the notion that change is affected from the ground up. Without the provincial associations doing their part across the country, the CCA would lose a lot of ground in Ottawa.

“Policy really depends on the success of the provinces bringing their agendas to the CCA table,” he said. “The directors deciding on policy is what drives my job.”
Manitoba is home to Canada’s third largest cattle herd and according to Lee, is emerging as a respected and industry leading association. The MCPA has been moving in the right direction and the work they are doing is being noticed nationally.

“Manitoba has taken the lead on a couple of issues such as TB testing and some other issues that play a bigger part in the whole picture,” he said.

Lee is passionate about his work and it shows. He was raised in southern Saskatchewan on a cow/calf operation, where today he still owns a few head of cattle and some land. His brother and father continue to raise cattle in the town of Fir Mountain.

“The thing I enjoy about my job the most is who I work for. I work for my dad and my brother and other people like them in the industry, so I can relate what I do back to home everyday and that’s pretty satisfying,” he said.