August 26, Ottawa, ON —On the heels of the government of Canada’s announcement of trade support for market losses for 11,000 Canadian dairy farmers, AGgrowth, the coalition representing farmers from across the country, demands support for its export-oriented farmers facing significant market disruptions as a result of global trade action.
Despite attempts by the AGgrowth Coalition, the government of Canada is ignoring the significant challenges currently facing Canada’s largest agriculture sector. Over 100,000 export dependent farmers producing $62 billion in farm cash receipts are facing the impacts from key international market closures and yet the government’s support is currently limited to only one sector. Agriculture as a whole requires the support of government when faced with risks caused by political decisions outside of their control.
“Enough stalling, the government of Canada needs to provide support to farmers facing the impact of escalating global trade volatility,” said Markus Haerle, AGgrowth Co-Chair. “Equitable treatment is expected and reasonable. This isn’t about dividing farmers, this is about consistency in policy and the need to protect and support agriculture as a whole.”
“Urgent action is needed, BRM programming needs to be reinstated to its former levels immediately for all farmers across Canada,” said Chris van den Heuvel, AGgrowth Co-chair.
“The government of Canada needs to stand up for farmers facing this critical situation created by geopolitical decisions and market risks outside of their control,” said AGgrowth Co-chair, Jeff Nielsen.
The AGgrowth Coalition will be seeking meetings in the immediate future with representatives from the Canadian government and the Official Opposition including Minister of Agriculture and Agri-food, Marie Claude Bibeau, Minister of International Trade Diversification, Jim Carr, and the Leader of the Opposition, The Honourable Andrew Scheer, to raise the need for a commitment of support for all the farmers represented by the Coalition.
For details of the AGgrowth Coalition four-point plan for addressing the shortfalls in the BRM suite go to http://aggrowthcoalition.ca/
About AGgrowth Coalition
Coalition members represent farmers from across the country and include: Canadian Canola Growers Association, Canadian Federation of Agriculture, the Canadian Horticultural Council, Grain Farmers of Ontario, Grain Growers of Canada, and the National Sheep Network.
Media Contacts:
Canadian Federation of Agriculture
Laurie Karson
Director of Communications
Phone: 613-236-3633 ext. 2322
Email: communications@canadian-farmers.ca
Grain Growers of Canada
Lindsey Ehman Manager
Communications Stakeholder Relations
Phone: 613-233-9954 ext. 202
Email: lehman@ggc-pgc.ca
Canadian Canola Growers Association
Cheryl Mayer
Director, Policy Development
Phone: 204-789-8815
Email: cherylm@ccga.ca
Grain Farmers of Ontario
Debra Conlon
Government Relations
Phone: 416-805-4490
Email: dconlon@gfo.ca
Canadian Horticultural Council
Mark Wales
Chair, Business Risk Management Committee
Phone: 519-773-6706
National Sheep Network
Jennifer MacTavish
General Manager
Phone: 519-836-0043
Email: jmactavish@ontariosheep.org