It took intervention from the highest political levels and a bit of tinkering to accommodate Quebec’s jurisdictional sensitivities, but the province finally signed Ottawa’s agricultural policy framework Oct. 10.
Quebec became the seventh province to sign, leaving the deal short just one province – either Saskatchewan or Ontario – to bring the controversial safety net into force.
The deal between federal agriculture minister Lyle Vanclief and Quebec minister Franoise Gauthier means that Quebec now will start to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in APF funding from Ottawa, including cash advances this autumn for beef producers affected by bovine spongiform encephalopathy.
Read Also
Agriculture ministers agree to AgriStability changes
federal government proposed several months ago to increase the compensation rate from 80 to 90 per cent and double the maximum payment from $3 million to $6 million
“Quebec is signing the implementation agreement today because it is convinced that it will receive its fair share of federal funding and that this agreement will benefit its producers,” Gauthier said in the official announcement.
However, Quebec farm leader Laurent Pellerin, an opponent of the current design of the APF safety net package, said there likely is another reason Quebec signed.
“They want the money because a lot of farmers in beef and honey and other commodities had a bad year in 2003 and they need good news,” he said.
The program agreed to today likely will not last long, he predicted. Pellerin said when new Liberal prime minister Paul Martin takes office in four months or less, there are indications he is willing to allow changes to meet objections from farmers and many provinces.
“I think there will be changes with the new government and everybody thinks that, so this wasn’t really signing something long term.”
The first step to getting Quebec’s agreement was the election last spring of a Liberal provincial government to replace the sovereigntist Parti Québecois.
Then, there had to be some federal flexibility under the clause that in all other federal-provincial APF implementation deals stipulates a “skills development and learning assistance program” for farmers would be jointly funded.
Quebec considers education as strictly a provincial jurisdiction. Negotiations on a compromise involved calls between prime minister Jean Chrétien and premier Jean Charest. In the end, that will be Quebec’s program alone.
Vanclief also agreed to spell out in the agreement that Ottawa is committed to defending supply management as a risk management tool and its three requirements of border controls, administered pricing and production controls.
Gauthier agreed that while the provincial Financiere Agricole du Québec will administer the programs, after three years they will be the same in Quebec as elsewhere in Canada. This is a backtrack from Quebec’s demand that more lucrative provincial programs be allowed to continue with federal funding support.
Pellerin said he expects that to happen once the new Liberal prime minister replaces the existing one no later than next February.
