The federal government’s Options program designed to send up to $550 million over two years to poor farm families has received a strong endorsement from a national anti-poverty organization.
The endorsement came as the government announced that $20 million has already been sent to low-income farmers who qualify.
Applications for money in the first year of the program must be received by Oct. 31.
Sherrie Tingley, executive director of the National Anti-Poverty Organization, heaped praise on the program during an appearance Sept. 28 before a Senate committee launching a study on rural poverty.
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She said the income cutoff for eligibility of $16,000 for individuals and $25,000 for farm families is in line with established poverty line calculations.
“It’s a great step forward,” she said. “It is exciting and an amazing start, but it will have to be watched very, very closely to see how it is implemented.”
NAPO advocates a national guaranteed adequate income program to ensure that all Canadians have a minimum standard of living.
The Senate study was initiated by Conservative senator Hugh Segal, who argues that at least 40 percent of rural Canadians live below the poverty line, which would be unacceptable in urban Canada.
Last week, federal agriculture minister Chuck Strahl said more than 3,000 farmers have already applied for help under the program. Cheques sent out total slightly less than $20 million out of the $225 million available this year.
During a web-based news conference organized by the Canadian Farm Business Management Council, Strahl was asked why the government set a minimum $50,000 in farm receipts for program eligibility. That threshold has drawn criticism because it is excluding the poorest farm families that should be included.
“It does seem to be working” Strahl said.
“The $50,000 number is, I admit, arbitrary as any number would be. What we’re trying to do is find bona fide farmers so guys like myself that have a hobby farm with 20 acres and 20 head of beef don’t qualify, nor should I.”
He said up to 26,000 farm families could qualify. As a pilot project it will be reviewed to see if existing rules accomplish the government’s goals.
