REGINA – Farm lobby groups and prairie agriculture ministers have agreed to a $7.2 billion Crow buy-out plan, but they are still expecting major cuts to grain transportation subsidies.
Representatives for the 13 agricultural groups that met with the federal agriculture minister Jan. 19 said they would look to improve efficiency of the transportation system to off-set any financial loss that comes from a buyout of the Crow Benefit.
Ralph Goodale, the coalition of agriculture groups and the three prairie agriculture ministers, have agreed to the principle of a one-time buyout of the Crow Benefit, a grain transportation subsidy which now sits at about $560 million per year.
Read Also
Canada’s plant hardiness zones receive update
The latest update to Canada’s plant hardiness zones and plant hardiness maps was released this summer.
“For every dollar that comes out of farmers’ pockets as a result of this program, we need to recapture as much of it as possible by driving efficiencies into the system,” said Ted Allen, president of United Grain Growers.
He said these could include using grain cars better and faster.
“We’ve got a turnaround time in cars that hasn’t changed since the start of the century,” he said.
The coalition will meet with Goodale and transport minister Doug Young to design a buyout and improve the grain transportation system, said Sinclair Harrison, president of the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities.
Details this summer
Allen said the coalition would like to see a deal by Aug. 1, but said there was an extreme deadline of Dec. 31. He said he expected to hear details of the federal plan by June.
Goodale said it was impossible to estimate the amount of a buyout until after the federal budget.
The coalition, which includes commodity groups, prairie pools, farm organizations and rural municipalities, has a radically different idea than the federal government of what a fair settlement would be.
The coalition wants a $7.2 billion bond to replace the Crow, a number Goodale said is “not realistic, not possible.” Some suggest Goodale has proposed $2 billion as more reasonable, but Goodale would not confirm this.
All three prairie provincial agriculture ministers defended the $7.2 billion demand, but each said he recognized the financial problems Ottawa is facing.
Saskatchewan’s Darrel Cunningham said: “it’s hard to argue” with cuts to agriculture programs if other programs are cut to the same degree.
