Outgoing federal agriculture minister Lyle Vanclief made the compromises necessary last week to entice Ontario to sign the agricultural policy framework and to launch the new national five-year program.
Farm leaders immediately called on new agriculture minister Bob Speller to meet farm critics of the program and to make it better.
“Sitting down with industry and provinces to implement amendments to CAISP would mark an excellent beginning to Mr. Speller’s ministerial career,” said Canadian Federation of Agriculture president Bob Friesen in a Dec. 12 statement.
“The new minister should say that it is time to find solutions to the flaws and quit the government practice of making believe they don’t exist,” Grain Growers of Canada president Ken Bee said in an interview.
Read Also
Agriculture ministers commit to enhancing competitiveness
Canadian ag ministers said they want to ensure farmers, ranchers and processors are competitive through ongoing regulatory reform and business risk management programs that work.
In one of his first comments as minister Dec. 12, Speller said he will listen to farmers.
“There are concerns and I will listen to them and try to find a way to meet the concerns,” he said.
The new Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization Program ends the Net Income Stabilization Account program and revises crop insurance to create new safety nets, as well as providing funding for food safety, environmental, science and transition programs.
Ontario agriculture minister Steve Peters’ signature Dec. 11, the day before Vanclief was dropped from cabinet, gave CAISP enough support to launch it nationally.
“I firmly believe we have a stronger program for producers right across Canada,” Vanclief told a news conference.
Added Peters: “This agreement will allow us to enter into a new era of integrated business risk management, one that recognizes developing new opportunities and opening new markets creates a healthier agriculture and food sector.”
Ontario’s signature allowed CAISP to take effect across the country, starting the flow of money promised 18 months ago by former prime minister Jean Chrétien and Vanclief in a $5.2 billion five-year commitment. Since then, Ottawa has had a difficult time selling the deal to provinces and farmers who suspect the new program will provide less support than they now have.
At the last moment, Vanclief made some key concessions demanded by Ontario farmers and long resisted in Ottawa.
He agreed the new program will cover up to 60 percent of negative margins and the initial investment requirement by farmers to receive full coverage will be reduced in the first year.
Vanclief also agreed that future reviews of the program will consider whether some form of provincial-specific companion programs are necessary and should be co-funded. In the original APF design, Ottawa’s support for companion programs would end after three years.
The cap on payments for individual farm operations was raised to $3 million from $975,000.
Ontario Federation of Agriculture president Ron Bonnett said Dec. 12 that the federal concessions made the deal worth signing.
“The impending end to Mr. Vanclief’s career may have created the flexibility.”
However, Saskatchewan has not yet signed and federal officials made it clear no money will flow to the province until it signs.
