IF RECENT talk from the federal government is sincere, it marks an about-face from Liberal governments of the recent past and could signal better treatment ahead for farmers.
Federal agriculture minister Andy Mitchell has suggested there could be flexibility in federal-provincial cost sharing arrangements on agricultural programs, which are now funded 60 percent by Ottawa and 40 percent by the provinces.
Mitchell has said that jurisdictional disputes must not get in the way of providing support for farmers and that producers are the top priority when Ottawa and the provinces negotiate programs and funding arrangements.
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Action on these problems would help solve the problem that sees farmers treated unequally across the country.
Farmers in agriculturally dependent provinces do not receive the same financial assistance as those in other jurisdictions because some provinces cannot afford to pay their full 40 percent share of program costs. The provinces hardest hit by downturns in the agricultural economy are asked to pay more at the very times when they can least afford it.
For example, Saskatchewan agriculture minister Mark Wartman has long complained that his province spends more per capita than any other province on farm programs. Yet it cannot pay its 40 percent of the Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization program. Surely the economic challenges facing Saskatchewan farmers are no less than those of farmers elsewhere.
Mitchell has also expressed a desire to open the debate surrounding emergency aid, the so-called ad hoc programs.
Contrary to the message delivered by his predessor, Mitchell concedes that CAIS is not the program that will end the need for all other types of farm assistance. He has recognized that it helps level the peaks and troughs in farm income, but is ill-equipped to deal with crises like BSE, trade-related matters that affect farm income, or widespread crop failure.
The provinces and Ottawa also gain points for telling CAIS program administrators that they must do away with the deposit requirement.
It is a requirement that forces many farmers to borrow to make the deposit before they can qualify for payments.
But there is a glitch. It appears the final decision on the deposit will not be addressed until a federal-provincial agriculture ministers meeting next June – too late for the March 31 deadline for farmers to submit their deposits if they want a CAIS payment for 2003-04.
Quicker action is needed and seems doable given that the issue has found such broad agreement.
While the change in Ottawa’s message is welcome, and no doubt aided by a $9 billion budget surplus last year, more work is needed to improve the farm economy over the long term. Lip service is one thing; follow-through is another.
