Ellen Funk has heard the conspiracy theories about why the controversial CAIS program is so complex and unpredictable.
The senior Agriculture Canada official responsible for answering questions about the Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization program has heard the argument that the bureaucrats like the complex forms, detailed calculations and unpredictable results because it gives them power.
“I’ve heard that but believe me, it is not true,” she said in an interview in her Winnipeg office.
“The complexity drives me crazy. At least once a week, I scream aloud, ‘why can’t we just do something simple?’ Farmers don’t like it and neither do we.”
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Project promotion officer Alex Allen agreed: “I think the issue of the complexity of the forms has somewhat overwhelmed examination of the principles of the program.”
There are other conspiracy theories about why CAIS is as it is and has the supporters that it does.
Many critics argue it is a make-work project for accountants who make money from the more than 60 percent of CAIS applicants who pay to get help with their application forms.
More prevalent is the argument that governments like the program because it limits their costs and makes their lives easier and predictable.
“I think a big part of the challenge is that the program proposal is designed to meet government needs, but there has not been enough thought, enough time and enough analysis to design it so it meets producers’ needs in an effective way,” Ontario farmer and then-Grain Growers of Canada president Ken Bee told a parliamentary committee in 2003.
Canadian Federation of Agriculture president Bob Friesen believes provinces support the principles of CAIS because they pay 40 percent of its cost and want to limit their exposure.
“They are reluctant to change CAIS to make it more effective for farmers because it would cost them more. The fear of more cost has paralyzed the provinces.”
In Saskatchewan, senior provincial agriculture department official Hal Cushon scoffs at the idea that provinces support CAIS because it makes their commitment less costly.
“Is CAIS there for me? I would say absolutely not,” he said.
“Our costs are very unpredictable and our farmers are very unhappy, so these are not good arguments. We support it because we think its principles are good public policy.”
