The MP given the job of investigating causes and solutions to the problem of chronically low farm income hopes to start consultations on the issue early next year.
Prince Edward Island Liberal Wayne Easter, parliamentary secretary to the agriculture minister, said Agriculture Canada officials have been asked to start compiling information on the depth and impact of the income decline that has been evident for a quarter century.
He has not developed a full plan on how to proceed but said there will be “two tracks – getting a common data base so we are all talking about the same thing and at the same time beginning consultations. I hope to be able to start that by January.”
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Easter told a symposium organized by the Canadian Federation of Agriculture on the income issue that he understands the need for speed.
“At the moment, we’re trying to put meat on the bones,” he said. “But I know timing is critical. I know there is frustration out there and I hope to be moving by early January.”
The veteran MP and former minister also acknowledged that one of the difficulties will be controlling the tendency of any government to defend what it has done. He said it will be critical that the government not be afraid to see its programs and past efforts judged harshly if that is where evidence leads.
Later during an appearance before the Senate agriculture committee, agriculture minister Andy Mitchell said finding a way to make Canadian farming profitable is one of his goals.
“If producers cannot make a living farming, then they will not farm,” he said. “If they do not farm, that is a significant detriment not just to them, not just to the rural communities that support our agricultural industry but to all Canadians. Indeed, when you consider our ability to feed markets beyond our country, it is detrimental to people around the globe.”
