Saskatchewan agriculture minister Bob Bjornerud says the province will take over administration of farm assistance programs like AgriStability.
Speaking to delegates to the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities annual convention, Bjornerud said too many farmers are frustrated dealing with federal bureaucrats who administer the program.
“We’re going to bring the CAIS administration back to Saskatchewan,” he said, referring to the former name of AgriStability.
His ministry has been investigating the possibility of taking over but needed more information about the costs. It costs the province about $15 million a year to pay Ottawa to administer the programs now.
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Asked what it would cost, he still couldn’t say.
“The cost that Alberta told us it will be can be saved over the long run,” he told reporters. “It could be a fairly major injection of cash here. I guess maybe I’m being too optimistic because I’ve got to go to cabinet then and sell it. I need those numbers to do that.”
Alberta officials have suggested the cost would be about 60 percent of $15 million.
But aside from the cost, Bjornerud said the benefit to administering the program at home would be response time to concerns. He said getting results right now is a “bureaucratic nightmare.”
If the program were provincially operated, staff would answer to him.
“I’m not saying that in a threatening way, but I’m saying we can make the changes that need to happen here,” he said.
