The Alberta government has declared an agricultural emergency, the first step to launching another BSE aid program, said the Alberta New Democratic opposition.
ND leader Brian Mason said the July 27 provincial order-in-council declaring a BSE emergency for the upcoming year gives the government access to the province’s billion-dollar sustainability fund.
“This gives them access to several billion dollars in the stabilization fund. It’s very similar to a resolution they passed just a few days prior to the first BSE program,” said Mason.
“This is the authority by cabinet declaring an emergency that allows them to spend as much money as they want without reference to the legislation. We believe they’re now planning a major multimillion-dollar bailout program.”
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Mason said while his party is not opposed to an aid program for hard hit cattle producers, it must be designed so that the money goes to family farms. He said any new program should include a floor price to prevent cattle prices from dropping as they did with the first federal and provincial aid program.
“Our proposal is to have the meat packers bear a more fair share of the burden of the crisis, to put in place a floor price that would guarantee producers a minimum price on their live animals.”
Mason said he would also like to see a prohibition on packer-owned cattle.
“We know the big players dominate the industry politically as well as economically. We’re trying to put forward proposals that will help the family farm, help the small beef producers and also very importantly, we don’t think the general taxpayers want their tax money to subsidize packers directly or indirectly.”
John Knapp, Alberta’s assistant deputy minister of agriculture, said the order-in-council ensures money is in place to cover already announced agricultural programs, including an expanded Canadian Agriculture Income Stabilization program.
Last year, payments under several programs were made through an order-in-council that expired March 31, said Knapp.
“It simply made sure the dollars were in place through the sustainability fund,” said Knapp.
“It’s speculation as to whether there could or would be another program.”
Even though the government has access to money in the sustainability fund, any future programs must still go through the normal routes and be approved by the treasury board, he said.
