Agriculture minister Lyle Vanclief sent a clear message to farmers last week that he is not about to open up government coffers to satisfy farmers calling for extraordinary help.
This agriculture minister is not for spending, even though many in Ottawa political circles are itching to launch a debate over how governments can allocate some new spending once the books are balanced this year.
It is not a debate Vanclief sounds interested in joining.
Budgets are allocated and safety net programs like the Net Income Stabilization Account are designed, he said. There will be no extra disaster payments.
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“I don’t think it’s on any longer,” he said. “We have NISA, we have crop insurance, we have companion programs. There will be no adhoc money.”
Farmers and politicians in British Columbia, Nova Scotia and drought-affected areas of southern Saskatchewan and Manitoba were the first to feel the impact of this tough spending stand.
In British Columbia, Ottawa has said it will cost-share provincial companion program spending because there is some unallocated money. It will not offer extra funds.
But in the drought-affected provinces where livestock farmers face a lack of feed or much higher feed bills, companion program money was allocated.
Farmers and their political representatives said existing safety net programs are not enough for their emergency circumstance.
Ottawa refused new money.
Instead, Vanclief announced that Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Nova Scotia livestock owners forced to sell animals this year because of the drought will be able to defer for one year paying income tax on the revenue from the forced sales.
The money can be used to buy replacement cattle in the spring.
However, the back tax bill will come due for the 1998 tax year.
“This may not involve a lot of money and yes, it will have to be paid eventually,” said the minister. “But it is the best we have right now. It is a management tool we are making available.”
For opposition critics, Vanclief’s response is too rigid.
“I don’t think a tax deferral solution is any solution at all because a lot of producers facing catastrophic circumstances are not in a position where they are paying tax anyway,” said Reform party agriculture critic Jay Hill. “What is the point of a program that gives them a tax break?”
He said governments should develop what once was called a “third line of defence” program in which money is set aside, above existing safety net program funding, for special needs.
Progressive Conservative Party critic Rick Borotsik had a similar suggestion. The Brandon MP said government should have “a well-thought-out, logical policy in place to deal with extraordinary circumstances.”
