Canada. Dairy Products Division : In 1893, the Dairy Products Act was passed to prohibit the manufacture and sale of substandard cheese, to require accurate labelling, and to establish sanctions (56 Vic., Chap. 37). The Dairy Act was passed in 1897. It provided for the regulation of cheese factories and creameries and the labelling of dairy products. It explicitly prohibited the misrepresentation of the manufacture date and established a set of sanctions in the form of fines (60-61 Vic., Chap. 21). The Minister of Agriculture adopted a system of bonusing those creameries which provided refrigeration rooms (Annual Report, 1897, p. 9). In 1914, the Dairy Industry Act was passed to regulate the manufacture and sale of a range of dairy products, including milk, butter, and cheese (4-5 Geo. V, Chap. 7). That same year the Cold Storage Warehouse Act was passed. It enabled the Minister to pass regulations for the licensing and inspection of cold storage warehouses (4-5 Geo. V, Chap. 22). In 1918, after the postwar transfer of the last of its non-agricultural administrative responsibilities, the Department divided its activities among a number of branches; one of which was the Dairy and Cold Storage Branch. This administrative structure, with minor changes, remained in place until 1938 (Annual Report, 1918-1919).
In a major reorganization in 1938, operations of the Department were divided into five Services. The efforts of the Science Service were directed towards "the solution of practical problems of agriculture" through research. The Production and Marketing Services had responsibility for most of the legislation the Department administered. Within Marketing Services, the Dairy Products Division administered the Dairy Industry Act, the Cheese and Cheese Factory Improvement Act, and the Cold Storage Act. The Dairy Products Division (and earlier the Dairy and Cold Storage Branch) was responsible for registering cheese factories in Canada and, during certain periods, for granting subsidies for owners under the Cheese Factory Improvement Act.
During the Second World War, the Dairy Products Board (PC 2138, May 23, 1940) was given the responsibility to coordinate food production and distribution of dairy products (Annual Report, 1940-1941, p. 170). The Canada Dairy Products Act was passed in 1951 to establish national standards for dairy products and to regulate interprovincial and international trade in dairy products. It superseded sections of the Dairy Industry Act (15 Geo. VI, Chap. 39).
The Canadian Dairy Commission was established by the Canadian Dairy Commission Act in 1966. It was given the dual mandate of ensuring that efficient producers were given a fair return on their labour and investment, and that consumers were assured a continuous and adequate supply of high quality dairy products. The Commission was empowered to purchase dairy products, to stabilize prices with funds provided by the Agricultural Stabilization Board, and to regulate marketing (14-15 Eliz. II, Chap. 34). The Canadian Dairy Commission reported directly to the Minister. RG17 General Inventory
