Since 2023, Justine Hendricks has served as the president and CEO of Farm Credit Canada. Prior to this, Ms. Hendricks was the Senior Vice President of Business Enablement at Export Development Canada. As a leader in the agri-food sector, Ms. Hendricks will be featured in the opening fireside chat titled Setting the Scene – Canada’s Challenges and Opportunities in Feeding the World Sustainably as part of the Canadian Agri-Food in a Sustainable World conference. The fireside chat will set the stage for day 1 (Oct. 2) by considering what we know and what we do not know in the context of improving sustainability in the agri-food sector and what this means for the policy landscape in Canada and around the world. 

The conference is hosted by the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute and the Centre for Agri-Food Benchmarking and will be held on October 2 and 3, 2024 at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, Ontario. A key focus will be the importance of defining sustainability in the context of agriculture and food and what this means for future productivity and economic growth of the sector. The conference will look at sustainability through a policy lens and will address how agri-food policy should be revamped to improve both environmental and economic outcomes. The sessions will aim to convene agri-food leaders to consider the problems that policies are trying to solve and to determine solutions that provide meaningful and relevant action on sustainability. 

In addition to Ms. Hendricks, other new speakers include: 

• Jean-Michel Couture, President and Partner, Groupe AGÉCO 

• Stuart Person, National Leader of Crop Services, MNP 

• Selene Munro, Director of Sustainability, United Farmers of Alberta Co-operative Ltd. 

• Katie McRobert, Executive Director, Australian Farm Institute (AFI) 

Session descriptions, schedules, and registration are now available on the event webpage. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for more information on conference speakers and sponsors. Register today. 

CAPI has reserved two hotel blocks for attendees. One room block is at the Westin Ottawa and rooms will be held until Thursday August 29. The other room block is at the Lord Elgin Hotel and rooms will be held until Monday September 2. Full details for booking can be found on the event webpage under Accommodation. Book early to avoid missing conference rates.