SASKATOON (Staff) – The federal threat to sidestep the provinces in creating a new national farm safety net if they do not sign on by Sept. 30 is merely a “bargaining position,” Saskatchewan premier Roy Romanow said last week.
Federal agriculture minister Ralph Goodale has threatened the provinces with unilateral federal action on a new program if stalled federal-provincial talks are not concluded by the end of September.
Federal and provincial ministers remain divided over some key issues despite more than a year of negotiation.
But Romanow suggested he did not take Goodale’s threat of a federal-farmer plan without provincial involvement as a final position.
“We are very concerned about a unilateral federal move in September,” he said. “I take Mr. Goodale’s statement as a negotiating stance.”
Romanow said the provinces and Ottawa continue to work on cementing a national safety net program.
“I think the two-year deal Saskatchewan has with Ottawa is a good one and should be the base for the future,” he said.
