Some concern over lack of new substance in policy

(OTTAWA) – The Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) is pleased to see one of Canada’s party leaders finally address agriculture issues in this election campaign, as Prime Minister Paul Martin unveiled the Liberal Party agriculture policy during a stop in southwestern Ontario today.

CFA welcomes the Prime Minister’s commitment to review the Agriculture Policy Framework (APF) based on the Wayne Easter Report, and more importantly his formal commitment to work with farmers to change business risk management programs. CFA also welcomes the Prime Minister’s commitment to supporting the right of farmers to choose their marketing structures, like supply management and the Canadian Wheat Board. However CFA is concerned the other policy measures announced contain very little that is new, nor anything to address the farm income crisis currently addressing Canada. 

“We are pleased to see a party leader acknowledge that agriculture is a vital part of our economy,” said Bob Friesen, CFA President. “Mr. Martin today recognized Canadian farmers are facing some serious challenges. He made some important commitments to working with farmers in addressing those challenges. But if he wants to prove the sincerity of those commitments to farmers, he will need to work with farm groups and propose more substantive policy.” 

The increase in the capital tax gains exemption will provide some assistance with intergenerational farm transfers, but won’t help the many farmers who are struggling to keep their farms right now. The commitment to create a national renewable fuels standard has potential, but the government must develop the policy further to ensure the benefits go to Canadian farmers. The commitment to export promotion is a good one, although farmers question whether $5 million is sufficient to achieve measurable results.

CFA notes the other measures announced today, such as amendments to the agriculture marketing programs act, offset credits, supporting the PFRA, and funding conservation initiatives, simply represent the re-announcement or renewal of already-existing initiatives and programs. CFA continues to stress the need to move past simply having a collage of different, non-integrated programs and instead work on building a strategic approach that brings together and links all agriculture policy, and uses a whole-value-chain investment approach to agricultural support.

“Using the Wayne Easter report as a lens for reviewing the APF is a good start, as there are many initiatives in the report CFA supports. But to achieve real transformative change we need to do more,” said Friesen. “CFA encourages the Prime Minister and all party leaders to review CFA’s Canadian Farm Bill proposal, a strategic approach that includes short-, medium- and long-term measures, and adopt it as the template for their agriculture policy.”    

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Founded in 1935 to provide Canada's farmers with a single voice in Ottawa, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture is the country's largest farmers' organization. Its members include provincial general farm organizations as well as national and inter-provincial commodity organizations from every province. Through its members, CFA represents over 200,000 Canadian farmers and farm families.