Federal, provincial and territorial ministers will meet in Saskatoon next week, where they hope to sign a new funding deal
The word of choice ahead of next week’s meeting of Canada’s agriculture ministers in Saskatoon is hope.
Federal minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, Saskatchewan minister David Marit and Manitoba minister Derek Johnson all used that word when asked if they will sign the next five-year funding agreement during their annual meeting.
Todd Lewis, a vice-president at the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, said the same.
“That seems to be the big question right now, if something is going to be signed, but the provinces and territories and the federal government have been in talks for a long time on this one so hopefully will come with an agreement,” he said.
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The current Canadian Agricultural Partnership expires next March.
As of July 11, there were outstanding issues, including a possible funding increase for strategic initiatives and the potential linking of environmental requirements to business risk management programs.
“Farmers are always open to best practices and helping out with the environment but at the same time don’t want things put upon them without consultation,” said Lewis. “We need practical things and sustainable solutions. We’re at a time now when food security has never been more important.”
Being asked to produce more with less is frustrating, he said.
Johnson said strategic initiative funding within the current framework should increase overall by 25 percent for the next agreement and he has cabinet authorization to negotiate that increase.
“We feel that the last three agreements have been, well I don’t know if you want to use the term stagnant, I guess I would use the word consistent,” he said. “There’s been no increases over the last decade and a half.
“We don’t need it static over two decades.”
Johnson said priorities include market and trade development, public trust, and the research and innovation required to keep farmers progressing and economically sustainable.
He said he is cautious about linking the environment to business risk management programs.
“There has been talk about rewarding producers who meet certain criteria in reducing their insurance premiums,” he said. “I came from the insurance industry in the past and everything that I’ve read if you decrease premiums in one portion you have to increase them in another.”
That could inadvertently punish producers who aren’t meeting the federal goals, he said.
On the other hand, Johnson said AgriInvest might offer a way to reward producers because the federal government could increase its contribution to individual accounts.
In Saskatchewan, Marit said Bibeau is aware of the provinces’ position on funding for strategic initiatives.
“She put an offer on the table… and the provinces were obviously looking for more,” he said.
That offer included a bump-up to only the environmental portion of strategic initiatives.
“Obviously she probably has the same challenges that every provincial cabinet minister has, is getting approval from cabinet and treasury board,” Marit said.
The provinces continue to look for flexibility within agreements so that regional issues can be addressed and funded.
“We’ve put it pretty clear on the table that we want to make sure that agriculture remains competitive and where our priorities are. We agreed on those pillars at the Guelph statement so we’re hopeful that the federal minister will be coming to the table with an offer that will be respectful that we can all consider and have serious discussion about,” Marit said.
In a June interview Bibeau said she was confident the ministers will strike the right balance between environmental objectives and economic sustainability.
Johnson added he does not want to see a one-year agreement to keep programs in place until a stronger agreement can be hammered out.
“Our goal is to get this five-year agreement in place,” he said.
Lewis said the old saying ‘the devil is in the details’ really does ring true as farmers await the outcome of the July 20-22 meeting.
AgriStability still needs some improvements, on top of those made last year, particularly for livestock producers, and the environmental programs are a bit of a wild card.
He said farmers, especially in Western Canada, are far ahead of the curve on practices to sequester carbon yet aren’t getting recognition for that.
