Provincial and territorial agricultural councils that have been delivering federal program money for more than a decade will lose that function March 31, 2014.
The news was delivered in a conference call April 11 between Agriculture Canada officials and executive directors of the 13 regional councils.
“The notice we were given is that there will be no role for a provincial or territorial council to be delivering programs,” said Heather Broughton, chair of the Agriculture and Food Council of Alberta.
“They would be centralizing and consolidating. To have a decision made with no explanation behind it is frustrating. We think it is wrong.”
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Councils and their farm supporters are calling on the federal government to reverse the decision.
Ontario Federation of Agriculture president Mark Wales said it’s wrong to centralize money distribution decisions in a country as large and diverse as Canada.
Provincial councils receive advice on what programs to fund from a volunteer board of agricultural representatives. Industry typically adds private sector funding to supplement federal spending.
The councils aren’t involved in business risk management funds.
“The OFA stands with all Ontario agri-food organizations in expressing our disappointment and in requesting the federal government reverse this decision,” Wales said in a statement.
Council representatives across the Prairies also protested the decision.
However, federal minister Gerry Ritz showed no sign of retreat during an April 20 news conference after a federal-provincial agriculture ministers’ meeting in Gatineau, Que..
He said it is a federal attempt to cut costs to fight the deficit.
“What we’re doing with a lot of our deficit action plan is looking at different ways to administer, looking at more effective, efficient ways to deliver the programs without the cost of administration,” he said.
In recent years, one of the main roles of the provincial councils has been to administer the Canadian Agricultural Adaptation Program, a five-year federal program set to expire March 31, 2014.
Ritz said the program will be reviewed close to its scheduled expiry date.
Broughton, who has chaired conference calls among council leaders trying to deal with the news, said the message from Ottawa is that even if CAAP is extended, it will not be delivered through the provincial councils.
“That is really unfortunate,” she said.
“The boards in each province are boards of people on the ground in the industry. They have the ability and knowledge to assess what the needs are in their province and the projects are funded accordingly.”
