Momentum grew last week for the proposal that Ottawa compensate farmers
for the price-depressing impact of foreign subsidies on grains and
oilseeds.
The federal government’s safety nets advisory committee endorsed the
idea at an April 18 meeting in Ottawa, a Liberal task force said
government has an obligation to help bolster farm incomes and in the
House of Commons, Canadian Alliance critic Howard Hilstrom demanded a
response from the government.
Meanwhile, more farm groups and grain companies announced their support
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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
for the proposal that Ottawa pay $1.3 billion for losses between 1995
and 2000. More than $200 million is added to the total each year.
“We have been told so many times we must speak with a unified voice,”
Grain Growers of Canada vice-president Ken Bee said April 22 from his
farm in Dresden, Ont. “Well, on this we are speaking with a unified
voice and I expect results.”
The proposal for trade injury compensation was first advanced by GGC in
December and later was endorsed by the Canadian Federation of
Agriculture, Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, Agricore United and various
provincial affiliates of the CFA.
In the Commons, Vanclief would make no promises of help. He repeated
his defence that last year, farmers received $3.7 billion in program
payments that in some cases offset lower incomes due to
subsidy-depressed prices.
“That is a significant amount of money for that support,” he said.
It is not enough for members of the safety nets advisory committee.
Chair Bob Friesen, president of the CFA, said in an interview the
committee is sending a letter to Vanclief endorsing the proposal. The
advisory committee includes members from across the country, including
the cattle industry, the canola industry and members of both CFA and
GGC.
“We support the concept of trade injury mitigation and we will be
telling the minister that,” he said in an April 19 interview.
Supporters of the proposal also figure they received support from the
Liberal caucus task force on agriculture, which presented an interim
report to Liberal caucus and prime minister Jean Chrétien April 17.
The report did not mention the trade compensation proposal directly,
but made it clear many farmers are desperately in need of more money
and governments should help.
In its final report in September, the Liberal task force plans to
analyze foreign support for agriculture and how Canada compares.
