The House of Commons agriculture committee has agreed to study rural mental health.
Committee members voted unanimously in favour of a motion put forward by Liberal MP Pierre Breton at their Monday meeting.
The motion called on the committee to study mental health challenges faced by farmers, ranchers and producers.
The committee will meet with stakeholders “with the goal of understanding the issues they face, sharing best practices, reviewing currently available resources and identifying gaps related to mental health in the Canadian agriculture community.”
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The committee intends to meet at least six times on the issue beginning as soon as May 23 and report back to the House.
Also at that meeting, the committee adopted its draft report on climate change and soil and water conservation and requested any supplementary or dissenting opinions be submitted to the clerk by May 1. The report will be tabled in the House.
Members agreed to invite Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay to appear at his earliest convenience in relation to their study on technological advancements and research that support exports.
A meeting scheduled for today was cancelled.
Contact karen.briere@producer.com
