Canada’s federal and provincial agriculture ministers show little appetite for a large spring ad hoc payment to farmers, even as farmers across the country are gearing up to make the demand.
In Ottawa after a meeting of agriculture ministers ended March 3, the talk was about making existing programs work better, rather than finding new money.
“All our discussions are based on the understanding that there is a farm income problem,” federal minister Andy Mitchell said in an interview March 4. “There are a number of programs and the first thing we want to do is look at those programs that are available and how they are capable of meeting the need that is out there.”
Read Also
Alberta crop diversification centres receive funding
$5.2 million of provincial funding pumped into crop diversity research centres
Provincial ministers echoed the message that a new program is not the preferred answer.
“We discussed what is out there, what resources are available and I think when you add up the dollars that have flowed or been committed, there is a substantial number of dollars out there,” Alberta minister Doug Horner said in an interview.
“What we have to ensure is that those dollars are getting into producer hands in a timely fashion.”
Manitoba’s Rosann Wowchuk took a similar view.
“The spring money is the CAIS advance that we worked hard to get,” she said in an interview. “That should help a lot for funds that are needed this year.”
That’s not the view of the farm lobby.
“We are looking for a CAIS (Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization) top-up and not just shuffling around programs to get more advance money out,” Canadian Federation of Agriculture president Bob Friesen said in a March 5 interview.
“In fact, the amount of advance money that is out there now is worrisome because, don’t forget, that is supposed to be paid back when you market and we are not at all confident farmers will be able to pay it back when you look at the prices that are being penciled out for later in the year. More advances from existing programs is not the answer.”
CFA affiliates, perhaps joined by other national farm groups, are expected to ask Ottawa and the provinces for more than $1 billion in spring money to help farmers get a crop in.
Although the main impetus is coming from the CFA, Grain Growers of Canada president Jim Smolik from Dawson Creek, B.C., said his group also could throw its voice behind the campaign. “I’d say it’s possible, as long as it is a common sense proposal.”
In Toronto March 2, as thousands of farmers milled around behind him on the lawn of the Ontario legislature at a large farm rally, Elgin County farmer Paul Mistole predicted it was just a warm-up.
Within weeks, Parliament Hill may be witness to the same scene but with a national flavour.
“I’ve been talking to Quebec and they’re ready to rock and roll in Ottawa,” he said. “Saskatchewan is ready to rock and roll as well. This is a national issue, if you just look at the farm income numbers.”
In Ontario alone, the demand is for $300 million. The Toronto rally was meant to show the provincial government that farmers are united on the issue of a spring cash need.
On the Prairies, three provincial general farm organizations issued a report March 1 that cited “an immediate need of $2.3 billion in the Prairies alone, above and beyond current commitments.”
