In the days leading up to the Dec. 14 announcement of government aid for the livestock industry, federal and provincial ministers were facing intense political pressure from many fronts.
For weeks, cattle and hog industry leaders had waged a lobby on Parliament Hill demanding help.
Last week, both Senate and House of Commons agriculture committees responded with interim reports endorsing the image of industries in crisis and in need of extraordinary government response.
Among their recommendations were fast action to pay out funds owing from existing safety net programs for the years 2006 and 2007, as well as a program of immediate interest-free loans.
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The long-term future of the industry is bright, said the Senate report released Dec. 11.
“Therefore, it is the committee’s conviction that an interest-free loan program will go a long way toward keeping the livestock industry alive and long-term structural adjustments … will make it more competitive in the future.”
The next day, the Commons committee weighed in with a report that also endorsed the loan idea proposed by the Canadian Pork Council.
It called for “a special transitional measure that will provide cash flow in the form of interest-free loans to be paid back over a period of three to five years and bankable cash advances to hog and cattle producers.”
On Dec. 13, pork council president Clare Schlegel turned up the pressure, thanking the two committees for their support and wondering where government was.
“We can only hope our federal and provincial governments see the light before it is too late,” he said. “If not, Canada’s future may not include a pork industry.”
To add to the pressure on federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz, the Ontario government last week announced a $100 million aid package for hog and livestock sectors in the province. There were rumours that several other provinces also were poised to announce their own aid packages.
In the Commons, pressure grew as opposition MPs began to increase their rhetoric.
“Every day efficient producers exit, gone forever, financially ruined, for what?” asked Liberal agriculture critic Wayne Easter.
“For having provided food to Canadians and meeting Canada’s export needs. Canada’s hog industry has lived up to its responsibility. It is time the government lived up to its responsibility.”
Even Liberal deputy leader Michael Ignatieff joined in, telling MPs Dec. 12 the pork industry was in its worst ever crisis.
“Bankruptcies and foreclosures are closing down even the most efficient producers and there is real misery raining down on hard-working families,” said the Toronto-area MP. “Will the prime minister instruct his minister of agriculture to bring forward an emergency federal package, above and beyond existing programs, to assist pork producers as they weather this crisis?”
Ritz shot back: “Contrary to the last government in power, I have the full support of my prime minister as we move forward in addressing agricultural crises in this country.”
Two days later, after a telephone conversation with his provincial counterparts, the minister acceded to the political pressure and announced what governments are prepared to do. Bureaucrats had been working on the details for several weeks.
