TORONTO – Canadian agriculture programming will be thrown into turmoil and federal-provincial relations will sour if Ottawa insists on implementing the first year of the agricultural policy framework April 1 as planned, Ontario agriculture minister Helen Johns warned last week.
“By pushing on this date, (federal agriculture minister Lyle Vanclief) will bring turmoil into the agriculture community and I don’t think that’s good,” she said in an interview.
“It will be across the country. I think he could do us a huge favour in agriculture if he gave us more time and tried harder to make this work.”
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Johns predicted:
- Four provinces will not join, including Ontario, Quebec, Prince Edward Island and possibly Manitoba.
“I think it is not going to be a national program and I think that split will be bad for agriculture for a long time to come.”
- The federal government could react by withholding safety net money from provinces that do not sign. “I think that would be a travesty. I think it would be completely unfair. I think it is a bully tactic.”
Manitoba farm leader Weldon Newton, president of Keystone Agricultural Producers, said a patchwork of program coverage after April 1 would be bad news for farmers across the country.
He said he expects Manitoba agriculture minister Rosann Wowchuk to refuse to sign, since provincial farm groups insist they do not have enough information about the new programs. A one-year extension in existing programs is required.
“We do not want her to sign and we expect she will not,” he said. “If that many provinces refuse to sign, it will be a huge message to Vanclief that this process has been flawed. It’s nice for once that we’re agreeing with Ontario and Quebec.”
Still, Vanclief insisted last week that the APF transition to two national federally supported programs – a combination Net Income Stabilization Account program and disaster funding plus a production insurance program – will launch April 1.
“It will be up and running by April 1, just four weeks from today,” he said in a text prepared for March 4 delivery to the Toronto Board of Trade.
Later, the federal minister told reporters he expects nine provinces (except Quebec) to sign and implement and he expects farmers to support it when Ottawa gives them more information.
The APF has been signed in principle by seven provinces.
On March 11, Saskatchewan was scheduled to be the eighth when agriculture minister Clay Serby was to meet Vanclief in Saskatoon.
Still, Johns foresees major problems.
“A one-year extension would be the wisest thing we could do politically for the feds, for us, for farmers. There still are too many questions.”
