Federal agriculture minister Marie-Claude Bibeau has confirmed that any reforms to business risk management programs are being delayed.
The comments were made June 9.
In March, Tom Rosser, an assistant deputy minister at Agriculture Canada, said the government is looking at options to improve the programs, which are often the focus of complaints from producer groups.
It was expected Bibeau would have the recommendations in time for a previously planned meeting in July with her provincial and territorial counterparts.
BRM programs are funded by federal and provincial governments at a cost share ratio of 60:40. The cost has averaged roughly $1.5 billion in the past five years.
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Changes to any BRM programs generally require two-thirds of the provinces representing at least 50 percent of the market, according to federal officials.
The COVID-19 pandemic has delayed the meeting until October, as well as any plans to announce BRM reforms.
Bibeau said her office is attempting to “build a new consensus” with the provinces.
“It’s not easy to get all the provinces at the same level, and us as well, finding a new consensus,” she said.
At the same time, Bibeau defended the current programs and her government’s support for farmers in the midst of the pandemic.
“I understand that these programs are not at the level producers would want them to be, there are gaps, and we are trying to fill these gaps through ad-hoc supports as well, and there will be more,” she said. “We’re still working with the industry to identify the sectors who are most in need but still, these programs are working to a certain level.”
According to Bibeau, $1.6 billion could be available to producers under the current programs and “double if farmers ask for that” depending on the situation they are facing.
“These programs are responding to the demand, according to the situation of course,” she said.
In a June 10 parliamentary committee meeting, Bibeau reiterated the available supports.
“One of my messages to farmers continues to be, these are important tools and please make use of them,” she said.
Despite any reform coming in the next few months, Bibeau said improving the programs is a priority.
“I can’t promise any deadline but this is top priority, this is the subject that is on the agenda each and every week,” she said.
AgriInvest funds currently total $2.3 billion, according to Bibeau, and the average producer has around $25,000 sitting in their AgriInvest accounts.
Supports offered by the other programs, particularly AgriStability, continue to frustrate producers, who argue it puts them at a competitive disadvantage on global markets because other countries offer more support for producers.
“We can’t compare Canadian agriculture with another one. In Canada, the business risk management programs exist for a reason and it’s to (give) the farmers more predictability and support that they need,” she said.
The programs were originally focused on income stabilization, but provincial and federal governments believed they offered more coverage than was needed.
Consecutive years of strong commodity prices also followed, resulting in higher levels of profitability and justification for governments to allocate funding away from risk management.
