Liberal opposition MPs left Parliament Hill for a summer parliamentary break last week vowing to return in autumn demanding more effective safety net programs to help farmers in distress.They expect the spring flooding on the Prairies to expose the inadequacy of support and timeliness of payments that are available through existing Growing Forward programs.Heading into a July federal-provincial agriculture ministers’ meeting in Saskatoon, federal minister Gerry Ritz believes that existing programs should be farmers’ first line of defense. He has not ruled out additional help but has been averse to ad hoc payments in the past.”I know the minister is saying there are programs and they are working,” former Liberal agriculture minister Ralph Goodale, now Liberal opposition House leader, said June 17. “From past experience, I can assure him that may be a holding line for the time being but it ain’t going to last, not if the weather remains as bad as it is.”Liberal agriculture critic Wayne Easter said reforming safety nets will have to be one of the priorities.”I think this summer will absolutely increase pressure to make AgriStability a better program,” he said June 18. “That program is this government’s CAIS (Canadian Agriculture Income Stabilization) program and I can tell you CAIS was a real political drag for the Liberals in the 2006 election.”But University of Saskatchewan agricultural economist Richard Gray is not so certain AgriStability will be a bust. He said the summer will expose a weakness in the program. “AgriStability and crop insurance were never designed to work side by side.”But he also said grain farmers have been able to build up their reference margins during recent years of good prices. “That could mean some decent payouts, although timeliness could be an issue.”However, Gray predicted that no matter how the safety net system works, the flooding will be a political headache for politicians.”Undoubtedly, there will be farmers who say there was a crisis and governments didn’t respond properly,” he said. “The political need may turn out to be a lot bigger than the fundamental economic need. I’m sure there will be a lot of howling.”Gray agreed that summer 2010 will be the first major test for the Growing Forward programs even as officials begin planning sessions and consultations to design the next policy framework that starts in 2013.Conservative Larry Miller, chair of the Commons agriculture committee, said the first order of business when MPs return will be to finish a report on young farmer issues. “I’m unhappy we didn’t get it done and I think we were one meeting away so that will be first.”He said hearings will continue on a private member’s bill to require market damage assessment before new genetically modified seed varieties are approved for sale.And Miller expects continued farmer complaints about the import of food from other countries where farmers do not have to adhere to the same restrictions and regulatory costs as Canadian producers.”I’m convinced we have to act on this, figure out how to shut the borders down to food that can be produced here if it is not produced under the same conditions it is produced here.”
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