TORONTO – The British Columbia government is willing to cut the federal government some slack over compensation to the poultry industry hit by avian flu and the largest poultry slaughter in Canadian history.
But there is no doubt Ottawa will get a bill, B.C. agriculture minister John van Dongen told an April 8 news conference after a federal-provincial agriculture ministers’ meeting ended.
“My premier has been very clear and the prime minister has been equally clear that there is a commitment to provide financial assistance and we will hold the federal government to that,” van Dongen said.
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He was responding after federal minister Bob Speller’s insistence that it is too early to talk compensation.
The priority is controlling and then eradicating the disease.
“It’s too early to say at the end of the day, ‘this is how much it’s going to cost,’ ” Speller told reporters who pressed him on how much compensation will be paid and when.
The B.C. minister concurred: “I agree with minister Speller that it’s too early to be able to finalize something.”
The two lead ministers, joined by ministers from other provinces, put on a unified face, talking about co-operation between levels of government and among provinces to make sure chicken supplies are available despite the 19-million bird cull in B.C.
However, once Ottawa and Victoria begin serious bargaining over compensation, that co-operation could be strained.
B.C. is insisting that in addition to statutory health-of-animals compensation for destroyed birds, Ottawa also has an obligation to help sectors beyond the farmgate that have been affected, including poultry plant workers.
In the past, the federal government has resisted such claims, insisting that compensation must be limited to primary producers directly affected.
In the aftermath of BSE, for example, the federal government ignored pleas for help from truckers who had lost their business and offered packing plant workers only a rejigging of Employment Insurance program rules to make coverage begin sooner. Unions had called for more generous treatment for workers who saw their jobs eliminated by the crisis.
B.C. will be asking for a much broader federal response.
Last week, Speller used language vague enough to keep his options open. In negotiations, much will depend on how widely he defines the industry.
“The prime minister has sat down with the premier and talked to him about the issue and he has made it clear to me he wants to make sure we work with all the industry to make sure the industry isn’t adversely impacted by this,” said Speller.
