If the federal Liberals do not return to Ottawa with a majority government June 28, they will be under pressure from more powerful opposition parties to end the 60-40 federal-provincial funding split for farm programs that has existed for the past decade, say opposition MPs.
The MPs complain that the formula penalizes provinces like Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Prince Edward Island that have difficulty meeting their 40 percent obligation of higher farm program demands exactly when their revenue-generating farm sectors are slumping.
“We have to look at that,” Conservative party agriculture critic Gerry Ritz said June 8 after an all-party agricultural debate in Ottawa.
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“We see more and more provinces being downloaded on all of these costs. It is the federal government that takes in all the taxation so somehow there’s got to be a way to respond with better than the 60-40 formula.”
New Democratic Party critic Dick Proctor agreed. In some cases, demanding a provincial contribution is fair but not always and not rigidly, he said after the debate.
“I would blow up 60-40 for things that the provinces don’t have any involvement in, like on trade deals and their impact on prices or income,” said the Saskatchewan MP.
The Liberals have shown no inclination to change the formula, insisting agriculture is a shared jurisdiction and provinces have an obligation to help their farmers.
Federal agriculture minister Bob Speller has said he is willing to help cash-strapped provinces by having Ottawa pay more of the costs in early years of a program while expecting provinces to pay more in later years to get up to their 40 percent share by the end.
