The federal government is allocating an additional $84.18 million to the Agriculture Canada budget for the current fiscal year.
New government spending estimates for 1998-99 presented to Parliament May 15 reflect greater-than-expected safety net costs and the expensive aftermath of the January ice storm in central and eastern Canada.
Agriculture minister Lyle Vanclief is being given:
- $37.5 million to compensate the department for money already spent helping ice storm victims and for compensation payments still to be made.
- $32.88 million to raise Ottawa’s contribution to farm income safety net programs. The department said the new money is needed to match safety net companion programs planned by provincial governments.
- $13.8 million to finance the forgiveness of debt in the Saskatchewan crop reinsurance fund. The debt was run up when Saskatchewan’s crop insurance program went into heavy deficit in the early 1990s and the federal reinsurance program was overdrawn to cover it.
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Gun registration
The government also said it is sending $87.5 million to the justice department budget to set up and operate the gun registration system under the new gun control rules.
And the defence department was given $183.4 million to help compensate for costs of fighting natural disasters, including last year’s Red River flood and the Quebec Saguenay flood in 1996.
The new spending must be voted by Parliament before it is official.
