WHEREAS an Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development staff member has been a long-standing and impartial member of the seed cleaning plant licensing scoring team;AND WHEREAS it is important to ensure the continuity of the scoring system of seed cleaning plants from year to year;AND WHEREAS the seed cleaning plant licensing process continues to be an important contributor to the success of seed cleaning plants across the province;AND WHEREAS the provincial government has a vested interest in the public seed cleaning plants across the province;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties urge Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development to continue to allow its staff members to be involved as members of the scoring team that licenses the seed cleaning plants across the province.

An Alberta Agriculture employee has been part of the seed cleaning plant licensing scoring team since the early to mid seventies. Having a member from the department allows for the impartiality and continuity of scoring throughout the region.The involvement of Alberta Agriculture representatives helps develop uniformity in the condition of the plants, quality of the work and management systems.Alberta Agriculture also has a vested interest in seed plants across the province because they were a financial partner when the seed plants were formed.It is very important that Alberta Agriculture remain an active partner in the licensing of seed plants in Alberta. This is one of the areas that allows the department to keep in touch with the production side of agriculture.The cost of having Alberta Agriculture representation is very limited but extremely invaluable to the seed cleaning industry.The Alberta Advantage could be jeopardized if the current level of inspection were to be compromised by the absence of Alberta Agriculture during the licensing process.