A full-scale review of Canadian agricultural spending should be a top priority in this time of global uncertainty, said a new report from the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute.
Tag Archives brm
Policy institute calls for open review of ag spending
It’s been 13 years since agricultural spending was reviewed, and some programs may no longer meet producer needs
Federal and provincial ag ministers meet in Fredericton
Environmental issues remain a hot topic for provincial agriculture ministers. That and sustainable agriculture dominated discussions during the recent federal, provincial and territorial (FPT) agriculture ministers meeting in Fredericton, N.B. The annual conference was held from July 19-21. The focus on sustainable agriculture tracks, as this is the first time the ministers have met since […] Read more
Budget could include new BRM program, ag labour plan
Proposal for 'AgriResilience' program goes to Freeland
A new pre-budget report from the House of Commons’ finance committee is recommending several measures directly related to agriculture — including sought-after tweaks to AgriStability and creation of an entirely new business risk management program. The multipartisan committee heard testimony and received submissions from more than 800 groups and individuals. Mostly-virtual meetings took place in […] Read more
Provinces’ feet held to fire on AgriStability
Ministers' meeting co-chairs push for progress to allow changes to be made retroactive for 2020
The co-chairs of Canada’s agriculture ministers’ meeting are pushing to get proposed improvements to AgriStability in place sooner than later. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and her Ontario counterpart, Ernie Hardeman, “urge all provincial and territorial ministers to support the proposed changes to the AgriStability program,” they said in a joint statement Tuesday. At a […] Read more
No BRM breakthrough reached at ministers’ meeting
AgMins fail to find solution to business risk management program woes
No consensus on changes to business risk managements (BRM) programming was reached during the latest round of federal-provincial-territorial agriculture ministers’ meetings. After the meetings ended Friday, federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau explained Ottawa was willing to maintain the current cost sharing of the programs at a 60-40 split between her government and the provinces. Bibeau’s […] Read more
Editorial: Hitting the top of the government handout cycle again
We are several years into a crop price downturn and, inevitably, farmers who are increasing financially squeezed are asking for help from the government. Once again, the federal and provincial governments appear to have been able to drag out any changes to business risk management programs until the point when crop prices have started to […] Read more
Bibeau not considering closing AgriInvest accounts
Minister wouldn't order farmers to pull funds
Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau is not considering ordering producers to withdraw from their AgriInvest accounts. “Not in this way. All the options are on the table for the future, but I’ve never considered asking them to withdraw, to empty their accounts, to face COVID-19,” she said in an interview Friday. Bibeau had previously expressed […] Read more
No timeline yet set for BRM reforms
Changes put on hold along with ministers' meeting
Ottawa — Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau has confirmed any reforms to business risk management (BRM) programs are being delayed. That confirmation came during a wide-ranging media availability Bibeau held Tuesday. In March, Tom Rosser, an assistant deputy minister at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), said the government is looking at a number of options […] Read more
Opposition MPs critique government’s COVID-19 response for ag sector
Pandemic puts ag committee meeting online
Ottawa — Opposition MPs used the first meeting of the Commons standing committee on agriculture and agri-food since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to critique the federal Liberals’ $252 million aid package for farmers and food processors. During the May 5 online meeting, Quebec MP Richard Lehoux, the Conservatives’ associate agriculture critic, charged the […] Read more
CFA seeks $2.6 billion in support for producers
Federal officials sought specific numbers from ag industry
Ottawa — Canada’s agriculture industry is seeking an initial $2.6 billion in COVID-19-related emergency relief funding from the federal government. Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) officials put in the ask to the federal government on Thursday. According to second vice-president Chris van den Heuvel, federal officials asked the CFA “to go and put hard numbers […] Read more