OTTAWA – The Farm Credit Corporation continues to ask for a broader mandate to support rural diversification but government promises to provide it appear to have evaporated.
A year ago, federal agriculture minister Ralph Goodale spoke often of his plans to introduce changes to the FCC legislation, giving it more flexibility.
But the topic has disappeared from his speeches this year.
A spokesperson in his office said Friday that legislation is not imminent.
Still, FCC executive vice-president Max Pierce indicated to a House of Commons committee last week that the Regina-based crown corporation still is pushing for broader powers to expand into several areas:
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- It wants to lend to any business involved in agriculture, whether farmers were shareholders or not.
- It wants to create more innovative lending programs, possibly including an asset-leasing scheme.
- It wants power to develop more services designed to help diversification projects.
- The FCC wants to expand its ability to gather and sell information to the industry.
- It wants to attract funds from provinces, co-operatives and farm groups that could be invested in agricultural projects.
The FCC already is a major player in the effort to support rural economic growth, Pierce told members of the Commons natural resources committee which is holding hearings into the natural resources and the rural economy.
Rural support
This broader mandate is “how we intend to enhance that support in the future,” he said.
However, it appears unlikely the corporation will get its way before the next election.
There is limited House of Commons time left before the expected 1997 dissolution of the parliamentary session and Goodale already has several priority bills taking up some of that time.
It would be difficult to convince the government to add a new agriculture bill to the mix, since the rush is on by all ministers to get their priority projects into law before next summer.
