Define a disaster. Many would say it depends on whether a situation is happening to you or not.
For many farmers, this year’s abnormal rainfall constitutes a disaster as cropland goes unseeded and disease and flooding rob the remainder, says Bob Thomas, a farmer and protest organizer from Milestone, Sask.
Thomas says farmers in the wet areas of the grain belt are holding out hope for what they feel may be their last avenue for assistance from government.
The federal and provincial governments follow a protocol for disaster aid set out in an 18-page document that specifies what is and is not a disaster. Throughout the thousands of words and hundreds of definitions are sprinkled references to farming and agricultural property.
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Most of these state coverage applies to buildings and other immovable property that is not practically insurable. Crops are not covered because federal/provincial agreements provide for crop insurance.
But farmers are hoping some clauses in the document might allow for financial assistance to return soil to productivity.
“We are attempting to establish what it might take to return the land to productivity,” said Steve Dunnigan, of the federal agriculture minister’s office in Ottawa. “We are taking it up with Mr. Eggleton’s office (minister in charge of Emergency Preparedness Canada) to see what might apply in this situation.”
He said there are issues of lost fertilizer and herbicide in the soil and extreme weed populations among others that are not fully defined in the Disaster Financial Assistance program.
Provincial burden
Since 1970, through the disaster program, the federal government has provided financial assistance to provincial governments when the cost of dealing with a disaster would place an undue burden on any provincial economy. There is no federal budget for the program and any money, once approved by cabinet, must be applied for through the Treasury Board.
A formula used to provide compensation is based on the amount of damage and the provinces’ ability to pay. The greater the damage and smaller the population, the greater the amount the federal government is required to spend in relation to provinces. The greatest amount the federal government is required to contribute is 90 percent of the cost when the damages exceed $5 per capita of the province.
In previous weeks provincial officials had ruled out coverage under the plan, while federal politicians made the point that until the provinces declare an emergency situation, the federal government has no role in implementing the program.
The DFA program guidelines say that each application may be evaluated on its own merits:
“It should not be construed that the omission of any item or contingency means that it need not be considered at the time of a disaster. Each event will require an analysis of its own special requirements and government policy to deal with them … . The decision of the executive director of Emergency Preparedness Canada (Ann Marie Sahagian) regarding eligibility is final.”
