Glacier FarmMedia—More than a century after its creation, there is no visible sign remaining of the File Hills Farm Colony in southern Saskatchewan. But the painful memories of an experiment that epitomized the culture of assimilation permeating that era’s attitudes towards Canada’s Indigenous peoples still live in the collective memories of residential school survivors. Likewise for some of the racist attitudes and policies that still exist today.

Rather allowing that piece of history to define the story of Indigenous agriculture, a new generation – this time under Indigenous leadership – is working to create a different future for First Nations in the sector.

Thomas Benjoe, president and CEO of FHQ Developments, points to the File Hills Colony as an example of how projects touted at the time as progressive actually held Indigenous agriculture back.

He is leading efforts by First Nations in the File Hills area to carve out a new legacy for Indigenous people in agriculture. FHQ Developments is operated by the 11 First Nations (including Peepeekisis) belonging to the File Hills Qu’Appelle Tribal Council.

Painful legacy

As the the 19th century bled into the 20th, the region’s Indian agent William Morris Graham devised the colony as a way to prevent Indigenous residential school graduates from reverting to traditional lifestyles once they completed their time at these schools.

Specially chosen graduates of residential schools were given an opportunity to farm on prime agriculture land belonging to the Peepeekisis Cree Nation, even though many of them were not members of that nation.

Members of Peepeekisis were displaced to a smaller area, while select graduates were encouraged to live like colonial homesteaders – and afforded many luxuries their peers didn’t have.

The Canadian government held out the colony as an example of how Indigenous populations could be assimilated but disregarded how it was preventing other First Nations from acquiring land, machinery and capital needed for long-term success.

Indigenous farmers were at the mercy of Indian Agents who could limit what was grown, control their access to equipment and what lands they could access.

The File Hills Colony eventually became riddled with controversy due to disputes over what amounted to illegal redistribution of reserve lands and suspicion that the government agents overseeing the operation were making off with some of the profits.

Legal action was filed in the 1950s to have the colony removed.

Earlier this year, the federal government provided $150 million in total compensation to Peepeekisis First Nation, with an option to acquire 18,720 acres of land.

“In creating and implementing the Colony Scheme, Canada breached its fiduciary duty to the Nation by failing to protect the Nation’s interest in the land and not providing any compensation to the Nation,” says a government release. “The historic and ongoing harm that the Colony Scheme caused to the Peepeekisis Nation created community divisions and animosity between families and members. The legacy of the Colony Scheme continues to impact the Nation to this day.”

Now considered to be an example of colonial oppression, the File Hills Colony colony forced a Euro-centric, agrarian way of life upon Indigenous communities.

“All of these things, all of these policies, have significantly worked against Indigenous communities to be able to actively participate and create that long history of what we need in the ag industry,” says Benjoe.

Overcoming the past

He sees overcoming that rocky history and re-engaging in agriculture as an important opportunity for First Nations.

“It’s not just from a producer’s perspective, it’s from a tech, manufacturing, and supply chain, where we’re looking at it in a in a much bigger picture of how we can invest in and how we can participate,” he says. “We need to be a part of that leading edge work that is happening all around us, and if we don’t, we’re going to miss out on huge opportunities to participate and create, and be a part of an industry that is both sustainable and renewable.”

While the potential is real, so are the barriers.

Benjoe says the legacy of the File Hills colony and other government policies have led to “barriers for success” and a drop in enthusiasm for agricultural projects among First Nations.

But access to capital is the biggest hurdle holding them back.

“We just can’t compete in an agriculture industry that requires significant capital investment where we can’t get loans,” he said.

“We just don’t have the access to capital that is required to be able to participate at the level that is needed in the ag industry.”

Without access to money for projects on reserve, FHQ Developments is now looking elsewhere: off reserve lands.

“We’re shifting as an organization towards those types of opportunities. Just because, you know, access to capital on reserve is going to be very, very difficult,” he says.

Another way of continuing to look for ways to establish collateral is by finding low-risk ways of getting in the door, says Benjoe.

“Over time, we’re able to demonstrate our capacity and be able to fully participate in much larger contracts and take on more risk with our customers. And so that’s what we need to see in the ag industry,” he says.

Engagement

Through the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce, Benjoe is trying to make it easier for companies – in and outside of agriculture – to engage with First Nations through the creation of an Indigenous engagement charter.

“There’s no excuse for any organization, any business in Saskatchewan, to not do something. There’s resources, there’s tools, there’s training, there’s guidance, that’s all there for you now,” he said.

“You have all the levers to be able to allow us access. And if you don’t know how, or if you’re uncomfortable about going down this path, talk to us.”

Agriculture has a blueprint to look to on how best to engage First Nations. Benjoe points to the oil, gas and mining sectors as industries that have set a pretty good foundation of active participation with Indigenous communities.

In those sectors, First Nation-specific procurement policies, engagement and community investment are much more common than what is found in agriculture.

“What I need to be able to see and be able to advocate for is to work with those major ag companies and say, ‘Well, how can we get you thinking about reconciliation? How do we get the organization developing the right policies and making the right investments in unity?” he says.

“That’s where we see the opportunity, and that is why we are pushing forward within the ag industry.”

Champions needed

As Benjoe continues to seek “champions to step up” on the industry side of agriculture, he also expects more action from government.

“The role that government needs to play is around the policy and around the investment, we need them to make capital available, or set up loan loss provisions for us,” he says.

While government programming specific to First Nations and agriculture has increased in recent years, there is still little offered.

What is, such as the five-year, $8.5 million Indigenous Agriculture and Food Systems Initiative launched by the federal government in 2018, is oversubscribed. The program was designed to “support Indigenous communities and entrepreneurs who are ready to launch agriculture and food systems projects and others who want to build their capacity to participate in the Canadian agriculture and agri-food sector.”

Funding per project was capped at $500,000 per year, and in 2021 – three years into the five-year mandate – applications were suspended because the demand was too high.

“Indigenous communities want to participate, it’s just, you’re not putting enough effort and enough dollars towards it, that we can participate at a larger level,” Benjoe says.

“When I think about things that I want to participate in, in the ag tech or manufacturing or supply chain sector, there is a significant amount of capital that we’re going to have to invest.”

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Thursday evening’s debate, hosted by the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, had plenty of discussion about climate change and how best to support producers in a changing environment.

Liberal candidate and Canada’s incumbent agriculture minister, Marie-Claude Bibeau, leaned on the small gains her government has made in AgriStability during the first round of questions, in which each partyt’s representative to consider how they would approach the next federal/provincial agricultural policy framework.

Negotiations for a new framework will be a key priority for the next government’s agriculture minister, as the current agreement expires in 2023.

Under Bibeau’s leadership, provinces agreed with Ottawa to remove the reference margin limit from AgriStability, but prospects for further short-term changes remain dim as provincial governments in Western Canada continue to consider other program options.

“We are waiting on the conservative provincial governments to make it happen,” Bibeau said early in the debate, adding she wants to introduce “climate risk” into business risk management (BRM) programming to “meet the new reality.”

“These programs can be improved and take into consideration climate risk, this is the conversation that has already started with my provincial colleagues and the industry,” she said

Conservative candidate Dave Epp, running for re-election in Ontario’s Chatham-Kent-Leamington riding, countered Bibeau by arguing the current Liberal approach to BRM programming is too much “Ottawa knows best” and not enough of a partnership with the industry.

Alistair MacGregor, a long-time member of Parliament’s agricultural committee and the incumbent in British Columbia’s Cowichan-Malahat-Langford riding, repeated his oft-used call for programming built around resiliency.

“We know that this next century, climate change is going to be a huge factor,” he said. “The next agricultural policy framework, in discussion with the provinces, is really going to have to center on how we manage the risk from climate change.”

Bibeau jumped on an opportunity to point out the last Conservative government reduced BRM funding before challenging Epp to say how much a Conservative government would invest if elected.

Epp responded by saying the provinces have been the ones to lead throughout the ongoing drought and other challenges. He accused Bibeau of dropping her AgriStability proposal on provinces with no warning “at the 11th hour” and “on the eve of an unnecessary election.”

He said it was the leadership of provinces that resulted in drought-specific relief being brought forward, and accused Bibeau’s government of moving slowly on promised reforms.

“The review of the BRM program promised is still not done,” he said.

Bloc Quebecois representative Yves Perron, again seeking to be the Berthier-Maskinonge MP, called on Bibeau to accept a proposal from Quebec farm groups and move forward with changes to AgriStability solely alongside the provinces willing to do so.

Bibeau responded by again blaming conservative governments, arguing federal programs need to be applied across Canada.

During a debate on threats to the food production sector and how to address them, Epp pointed to labour as a big issue.

Bibeau said her government plans to reduce red tape for good employers and allow for more mobility of employees, while strengthening regional supply chains, to address ongoing challenges.

“The labour shortage is definitely a very big issue right now, it’s what I hear about in the field,” she said.

MacGregor said processing capacity is a challenge, and one where parties have already found common, multipartisan ground to stand on.

“One of the biggest threats, particularly with meat processing, is in many cases we’ve put all of our eggs in one basket,” he said, citing a federal report saying processing plants should be expanded and diversified.

Each candidate offered a commitment to putting in place a Grocery Code of Conduct, something called for during the pandemic as grocers imposed new fees on manufacturers and producers.

Five companies run 80 per cent of grocery sales, and MacGregor said hidden fees from those major retailers is a problem he hears about often.

“We absolutely need to level the playing field,” he said.

Bibeau said the conduct was a “key piece of the puzzle” and said plans for developing a voluntary code are already underway.

Epp contended that wouldn’t do.

“It needs teeth,” he said. “There must be teeth and adherence to the code in order for it to be effective, that’s what I’m hearing from industry.”

When debate turned specifically to the environment, Bibeau again looked to lean on her government’s track record of investing in a green economy. The most recent investment, made during the 2020 budget, received mostly positive reviews from industry.

But Epp argued the industry “will respond better to incentives, than to the stick” in a shot at the Liberals much-critiqued carbon levy.

“The top-down approach doesn’t work, we need further collaboration with our producer groups,” he said.

MacGregor said that where no alternatives exist, producers should be offered exemptions from paying carbon fees, but said, “We have to understand there are opportunities to help farmers transition.”

A brief debate on supply management resulted in each candidate agreeing they support the policy but squabbling over efficiency in payments to producers who lost market share as a result of recently signed trade deals.

There was equal agreement on the need to modernize the Canada Grain Act and introduce reforms to allow for easier intergenerational farm transfers. Each candidate also committed to being more assertive in international trade.

— D.C. Fraser reports for Glacier FarmMedia from Ottawa.

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Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau announced Thursday in Winnipeg that producers in drought-designated areas of southern Alberta, southeastern British Columbia, northwestern Ontario, parts of Saskatchewan and all of agricultural Manitoba (see map below) will be the initial regions eligible for the deferral.

“At times like this we need to reach out to each other, we need to find a helping hand and a sympathetic ear. We all need to pull together, neighbours helping neighbours, showing the true strength and solidarity of our communities,” she said at a Winnipeg press conference after a tour of drought damage north of the city.

The livestock tax deferral is being set up for the 2021 tax year with earlier-than-usual designations, so as to allow affected beef producers forced to sell a significant amount of their breeding herd to defer income tax from those sales. Other regions are expected to be added later.

The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association and other groups had previously called for the “immediate” implementation of the tax deferral program — as well as an expansion of the program to include other classes of livestock, among other requests.

Asked Thursday about the possibility of expanding the deferral provision beyond just breeding stock for the 2021 tax year, Bibeau said the government has received that request and will evaluate it, but “the first thing is to trigger the program that already exists… Making modifications takes longer.”

Manitoba Beef Producers president Tyler Fulton, who attended the Winnipeg event, added “we know it’s going to take multiple years to recover the breeding herd — and so considerations for different classes of animals, and adding multiple years (of deferral), we think makes a lot of sense.”

Crops for feed

Bibeau also pledged Ottawa’s support for “immediate” bilateral adjustments to affected provinces’ crop insurance programs, so drought-damaged crops can be made available for feed.

Saskatchewan had already announced such an adjustment last week, to give crop producers incentives to make drought-hit crops available for greenfeed, grazing or silage for livestock.

Manitoba on Thursday announced a similar adjustment — as did Alberta, which said Thursday its crop insurance adjustment would help encourage drought-hit crop producers “to act swiftly to salvage crops for livestock feed rather than watch their fields deteriorate further, and risk harvesting nothing.”

In talks with Manitoba and Alberta following Saskatchewan’s adjustment, Bibeau said Thursday, “we thought it was a really good idea and that the (AgriInsurance) program was able to take (the adjustments) and to remain sustainable.”

“What’s critical right now,” MBP’s Fulton added, “is that the message gets out that there is a really good incentive (to salvage crops for feed), so that crop guys can decide — right now — because time is ticking.”

Cattle producers, he said, “have likely less than a week left to make these decisions, and so the quicker that we can make those decisions and start salvaging some of the value of these crops — it’s just a critical time right now.”

‘Verbal commitment’

The four western provinces and Ontario have also requested AgriRecovery programs be put in place to further alleviate drought damage, Bibeau added.

AgriRecovery is designed to offer disaster-specific relief “in situations where producers do not have the capacity to cover the extraordinary costs, even with the assistance available from other programs.”

Supports under the program could include direct assistance to producers for added livestock feed costs, transportation and water infrastructure.

“We are working around the clock to turn those around as quickly as possible to help farmers with the extraordinary cost,” Bibeau said.

Alberta Agriculture Minister Devin Dreeshen, in Thursday’s release on adjustments to crop insurance, reiterated he and his Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario counterparts had received “verbal commitment from the federal government that a joint AgriRecovery program will be initiated to support producers affected by drought conditions prior to a federal election.”

Assessments for AgriRecovery are “currently underway” in those provinces, he said.

Thursday’s trip to Manitoba is arguably the most significant travel Bibeau has undertaken since the pandemic began — outside of a few announcements around her home province of Quebec.

After receiving an invitation from an area farmer, however, she decided to witness the devastation herself.

“I speak for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and myself when I say to all producers affected by the disaster, we have your back to get through the challenges of today and to position you for a sustainable future in agriculture,” she said. “We will do all we can to help you get back on your feet, and once again producing the best food in the world.”

“Canadian farmers and ranchers are facing one of the most severe, widespread droughts and one of the largest feed supply shortages that they have experienced in decades,” CCA vice-president Reg Schellenberg said in a separate release Thursday after Bibeau’s announcement.

“We appreciate Minister Bibeau and the federal government taking the time to visit one of the hardest-hit areas of the drought and subsequently taking swift action to support farm families.”

Bibeau also continues to hope the climate disaster will prompt provinces to accept her long-standing offer to make changes to AgriStability.

Ottawa has offered to increase the compensation rate offered to producers to 80 per cent, up from the current 70, which would add “$75 million nationally into the pockets of farmers who need it the most every year” according to Bibeau.

During Thursday’s press conference, she once again urged Prairie provinces to accept that offer.

As for the damages she saw on her trip, Bibeau told her audience, including several ranchers, that “I can’t begin to imagine the stress that producers are going through, watching your pastures and crops dry up, wondering how you’re going to get your animals through the winter, and facing the prospect of sending breeding cattle off to auction — animals that are the result of generations of careful genetic selection, hard work and sacrifice.”

Fulton also described the reaction from one ranch family MBP had heard from after having to disperse its entire herd: “They said ‘Can you imagine how it feels to see your years of hard work and love for farming go onto a truck? This is our livelihood, it’s heartbreaking.'”

Manitoba’s Interlake region, he said, is particularly hard hit, noting a livestock auction sale Wednesday at Ashern, Man. involving “more than 1,500” animals whereas typically most Manitoba auction marts are on reduced schedules or summer breaks at this time of year.

— D.C. Fraser reports for Glacier FarmMedia from Ottawa. Includes files from Glacier FarmMedia Network staff in Winnipeg.

Livestock tax deferral: How it works

In regions officially designated for drought (see initial 2021 map below), flood or excess moisture, the federal livestock tax deferral provision allows eligible producers who reduced breeding herds by at least 15 per cent to defer part of their income from sales until their next non-designated tax year.

To defer income, a producer’s breeding herd must have been reduced by at least 15 per cent in the tax year in question. If the herd was cut by at least 15 per cent, but less than 30 per cent, then 30 per cent of income from net sales can be deferred.

Where a producer reduced a breeding herd by 30 per cent or more, 90 per cent of income from net sales can be deferred.

Thus, in the 2022 tax year — or the next tax year in which the designation is lifted for a specific region — the income from those sales can be at least partially offset by the cost of reacquiring breeding animals, the government says.

In the 2020 tax year, designated drought zones for tax deferrals had included New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and parts of southeastern Quebec and northwestern Nova Scotia.

Unlike Thursday’s relatively early designation announcement, however, the 2020 designation list wasn’t finalized until May 2021 — by which time many producers had already filed their 2020 tax returns and would have needed to seek adjustments. — GFM

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Canada’s agriculture ministers are now calling on industry to lead the process.

They had formed the working group to study the issue in November, following complaints from suppliers that retailers were increasingly charging arbitrary, and costly, fees.

A summary report released Thursday said those fees are “causing tensions” in supply chain relationships, particularly between processors and retailers, as “fees have increased in their form and scale, and they have changed in the manner in which they are imposed.”

To find a regulated or legislated approach, the working group says provincial action would likely be required, but stakeholders operating on a national level contend doing so could lead to “disjointed provincial action, which could lead to inconsistent applications and loopholes if some provinces chose not to take action or do so differently.”

One potential approach being pitched is the development of a voluntary code of conduct with detailed rules to guide commercial relationships, while also providing a dispute resolution process.

Some stakeholders have proposed the creation of this, but there are concerns it might not be widely adopted and could lead to competitive distortions — for example, if only some businesses would be subject to paying compliance costs.

Making the code of conduct mandatory, which also has support in some sectors, could be implemented through legislation if needed. Critics warn doing so made lead to a lack of uniformity across the country as province’s each pass separate, potentially differing, laws.

Following Thursday’s meeting of Canada’s agriculture ministers, a readout from the proceedings called on “industry to lead a collaborative process to develop broad consensus around a concrete proposal to improve transparency, predictability, and respect for the principles of fair dealing.”

The ministers said the industry-led process will work alongside the working group.

Another update to agriculture ministers will likely be on the agenda at their next meeting, scheduled for December.

The dairy industry continues to be one of the loudest voices on the topic. In a release, the Dairy Processors Association of Canada (DPAC) welcomed the report’s findings.

“As a supply-managed industry, the arbitrary fees and penalties levied by large retailers create additional pressures for Canada’s dairy processors,” said Mathieu Frigon, DPAC’s CEO.

“We have heard from dairy processors across the country that this is a pressing issue and it is good to see that FPT ministers have come to the same conclusion. Now the important work toward an acceptable solution begins.”

The working group’s chair, Quebec Agriculture Minister Andre Lamontagne, said in a separate release Thursday it’s “essential to ensure more healthy relations between retailers and small processors and producers, who are particularly sensitive to uncertainty created by the fees imposed on them.”

However, he said he’s “optimistic” about sector players’ commitment to finding a mutually satisfactory solution.

— D.C. Fraser reports for Glacier FarmMedia from Ottawa.

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Brandon-Souris MP Larry Maguire saw his private member’s bill, aimed at lowering taxes on the sales of farms and other small businesses, pass in the House of Commons and go to the Senate after receiving bipartisan support.

The 199 votes for Bill C-208 came largely from the Manitoba MP’s fellow Conservatives, while the 128 opposing votes came from the governing Liberals including Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau.

Those in favour of C-208 say it improves the tax treatment of sales of farms to adult children or grandchildren, by excluding them from current anti-avoidance rules on business transfers.

“Parents will no longer have to be given a false choice of having to choose between a larger retirement package by selling to a stranger, or a massive tax bill because they sold to a family member — their own child or grandchild,” said Maguire, whose bill received support from Keystone Agricultural Producers, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) and others.

In the Senate, Maguire’s bill arrived for first reading on May 25 and, after a side trip to the Senate standing committee on agriculture and forestry, passed third reading without amendment on Tuesday.

“If we want to ensure the next generation of family farms is in strong financial health to capitalize on the immense opportunities facing our sector and drive Canada’s economic recovery, we cannot burden them with undue tax liabilities from day one,” CFA president Mary Robinson said Wednesday in a release hailing the bill’s passage through the Senate.

“This is tremendously positive news for farm families, who will now will not have to face an additional tax bill, potentially in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

C-208 would come into force when it receives royal assent, which as of Friday hadn’t yet been given.

Concessions

A private member’s bill introduced by Louis Plamondon of the Bloc Quebecois to prohibit any further market access concessions on supply-managed commodities in future international trade negotiations was not voted on.

Bill C-216 received second reading in the Commons in March and, after allegations of political delays, was studied by the international trade committee, which on Tuesday reported it back to the Commons without amendment.

But the dream of shielding supply-managed industries from trade negotiations might end with the current session.

That would be welcome news to opponents of the law, which include the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance. CAFTA’s president Dan Darling had previously told parliamentarians that legislating the exclusion of products from trade talks would irritate trading relationships, and tie negotiators’ hands.

“Put simply, this would be detrimental to our ability to generate growth and support about a million jobs across Canada,” he said in a 2020 letter on the subject.

Proponents of C-216, including representatives from supply-managed industries, said the law would allow continued predictability to ensure food security.

No entry

Foothills MP John Barlow’s bill to amend the Health of Animals Act also did not pass this parliamentary session. First introduced in 2020, the law aims to make it an offence to enter a place in which animals are kept if doing so could reasonably harm the animals.

While it passed second reading in March, the agriculture committee didn’t study it until the current session had almost ended and no vote on a third reading took place.

Another private member’s bill, C-206, which as proposed by Ontario MP Philip Lawrence would specifically exempt farmers’ use of natural gas and propane from federal greenhouse gas emission pricing, on Wednesday cleared third reading in the Commons and first reading in the Senate.

Jockeying for votes is expected to be a popular summertime exercise among MPs, as many political watchers are expecting an election as soon as September.

Easter departs

One long-time Liberal MP who won’t enter the fracas is Wayne Easter, who recently announced his retirement. A stalwart in Canadian agriculture for decades, Easter came off his family’s farm in Prince Edward Island to work with the National Farmers Union, where as president he rose to prominence championing the Crow Rate on grain handling.

Easter entered federal politics in 1993 as the MP for Malpeque, where he handled the agriculture portfolio as a parliamentary secretary (2004-05), opposition critic (2006-11) and member of the Commons’ standing committee on agriculture (2004-11).

Throughout his time in government, he was known as a fierce advocate — once arguing against his own Liberal government’s support of introducing rBGH, a bovine growth hormone that is still banned today.

“It has been my honour to work with and serve the residents of Malpeque, and it has been my honour to work with all members across political lines,” he said during his farewell speech to parliamentarians.

“It is the discussion, it is getting to know each other and it is the debate that, at the end of the day, makes for better policy and a better country.”

— D.C. Fraser reports for Glacier FarmMedia from Ottawa.

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“Our government is working to create a more inclusive agriculture sector that respects the values of Indigenous Peoples,” Agriculture Minister Marie Claude Bibeau said in a statement Friday.

“These investments are intended to ensure that Indigenous Peoples have equal opportunities in the sector, the resources they need to be successful, and access to safe and affordable food.”

One project, based in Saskatchewan, is receiving up to $954,000 to reintroduce grain farming as a career path, and to finalize a business plan for Cowessess First Nation, about 50 km south of Melville, to expand its farming operation to 2,000 acres.

Chief Cadmus Delorme said the long-term goal is to have a fleet of grain farming equipment.

Cowessess members, according to Delorme, “utilized the teachings and tools provided to support an agricultural existence” after signing Treaty Four. “Over time Cowessess members were great farmers, then Canadian policy made it harder for Cowessess members to farm.”

Delorme said the intention now is to “to revive agriculture and enable our community and its citizens to benefit from the vast amount of arable acres Cowessess First Nation owns.”

Another will see Xaxli’p First Nation, about 150 km west of Kamloops in British Columbia, get $88,000 to “prepare the community to engage in a number of agricultural activities by conducting a market study, a land capability assessment and an irrigation water source assessment.”

The economic development officer for Xaxli’p, Lyle Leo, said in a statement this project “project is a stepping stone to business planning and infrastructure improvements.”

Bigstone Cree Nation, about 125 km northeast of Slave Lake, Alta., will receive $131,000 to identify and plan agri-business opportunities to enter into Alberta’s market.

Most of the funding comes from the Indigenous Agriculture and Food Systems Initiative.

“Indigenous farmers, communities and agri-food entrepreneurs have a strong partner in the government of Canada. We recognize all of you, as leaders, in building and growing opportunities — from farming, community gardens, traditional foods and agri-entrepreneurs,” Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller said in Friday’s release.

“Indigenous Peoples were the first agricultural innovators and have a unique connection to the land that continues today.”

— D.C. Fraser reports for Glacier FarmMedia from Ottawa.

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The five-year framework agreement currently in place, known as the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP), is a $3 billion funding deal between federal, provincial and territorial governments that funds a wide range of programming within the sector.

That deal, agreed upon in mid-2017, kicked off in April 2018 and expires at the end of March 2023.

Consultations were launched Thursday on the next agreement — the current working title of which is the “Next Agricultural Policy Framework” — to continue through June and into spring next year.

Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau continues to be at odds with Prairie provinces over who picks up how much of the tab for cost-shared programming under these frameworks. In the CAP, the federal government picks up 60 per cent to the province’s 40 — a ratio that’s been contentious throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Facing high payouts for business risk management programming and tight budgets elsewhere, the Prairie provinces tried convincing Ottawa to boost its share to 90 per cent for affected CAP programming. Bibeau has maintained the current funding level has long been in place and should remain so.

Meanwhile, a federal offer to boost eligibility for payouts under one such cost-shared program, AgriStability, was recently rejected by several of the provinces.

Beyond the dollars and cents at stake, the specific programming to be made available in the next framework is also headed the right way for tense negotiations. Producer and industry groups, for example, have long called for reforms to Canada’s business risk management programs.

The federal and provincial/territorial governments have so far failed to reach an agreement that would meaningfully reform those programs under the current framework, but there has always been at least some optimism for change during the next round of negotiations.

Whether that optimism manifests in substantial changes remains to be seen.

Western provinces are actively exploring what new business risk management programs could be developed. Agricultural ministers in some provinces have expressed support for an alternative program to replace AgriStability — by far the most disliked of all the programs — for 2023.

Complaints of AgriStability being costly and ineffective, particularly on the Prairies, prompted governments in those jurisdictions to explore other options.

Manitoba’s Agriculture Minister Blaine Pedersen, who has championed the idea of a margin-based insurance program, leads the call for more broad changes to business risk management programs in the long term, including a potential replacement for AgriStability.

“We think that is a much better way of producers being able to insure themselves,” he said in March.

He told reporters at that time his government will continue to lobby for a livestock insurance program and explore the efficiency of a Whole Farm Margin Insurance (WFMI) program.

Alberta and Saskatchewan joined a working group to further investigate such a program, which would be modelled like crop insurance.

Much of the discussions and consultations so far toward the next partnership agreement are also expected to focus heavily on climate change.

Bibeau said Thursday it was “hard to tell” how climate change policies will be considered against programming in the negotiations, but she stressed the industry and provinces will continue to have a role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Ongoing development of offset protocols, carbon border adjustments and carbon pricing policies could impact agricultural negotiations between Canadian jurisdictions.

Labour and supply chain issues, brought to the public’s attention in a big way throughout the pandemic, will also be a topic of discussion.

Asked how labour shortages may be be addressed in the 2023 agreement, Bibeau pointed to the federal government’s role in funding research and innovation.

“There’s space for improvement around innovation, around robotics or artificial intelligence, so there is a path there definitely that we are interested in,” she said, adding the shortage could be addressed in part by streamlining immigration programs.

Expect more of a commitment to diverse voices under the next policy framework, as well. Moreso than perhaps any of her predecessors, Bibeau has engaged diverse voices often left out of agriculture.

To that end, she said the federal government will look to improve opportunities for Indigenous peoples, women and youth in the industry.

“We are really committed to diversity and inclusion and I can ensure you our consultation process, through our consultation process, we will reach out,” she said, adding sometimes the government needs proactively seek out different voices.

While the federal government has launched its consultations, expect provinces and territories to do the same; Prince Edward Island, for one, launched an online public survey on the Next Policy Framework on May 31, with a submission deadline of July 1.

— D.C. Fraser reports for Glacier FarmMedia from Ottawa.

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The NDP’s agriculture critic, British Columbia MP Alistair MacGregor, on Monday introduced a private member’s bill in the Commons to create a national soil health strategy for Canada.

The strategy as proposed in Bill C-290, which got first reading on Monday, would help maintain, enhance and rebuild the capacity of soils, the NDP said.

“Healthy soils are the foundation of sustainable food production, enhanced biodiversity and cleaner air and water for present and future generations. Canadians from coast-to-coast-to-coast depend on our ability to produce good food to keep themselves, their families and the environment healthy,” MacGregor said in a statement.

The national strategy would also have reporting requirements tied to it, including a requirement that the federal agriculture minister report on its effectiveness — and make recommendations for same — every three years after the strategy is put in place.

Beyond encouraging farmers and other land users to adopt best practices, MacGregor’s bill would create the office of a National Soil Health Advocate and establish National Soil Conservation Week.

That week would be on the third week of April each year. National Soil Conservation Week already takes place, but the strategy would give it federal recognition.

The advocate’s role, meanwhile, would be “to raise public awareness of the critical role soil plays in supporting agricultural productivity, in maintaining healthy ecosystems and in meeting global challenges, including food security and climate change.”

“Farmers are on the front line of the fight against climate change — few feel the impacts of our ever-changing weather systems more than they do,” MacGregor said.

“This bill is about ensuring they have the tools they need to keep doing their jobs to the best of their ability. When we support our farmers and food producers, Canadians see the benefits in healthy food and a safer, greener environment.”

Karen Ross, a director with Farmers for Climate Solutions, said in the NDP’s release that practices to enhance soil health are “fundamental to the future of farming.”

Private members’ bills such as C-290 rarely become law in Canada but are believed to have better chances for passage during periods of minority government such as in the current Liberal-led Commons.

— D.C. Fraser reports for Glacier FarmMedia from Ottawa.

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Red Deer-Lacombe MP Blaine Calkins introduced his private member’s bill for first reading in the House of Commons on Tuesday.

“Rural Canadians too often don’t feel safe in their own homes. Many have been victimized so often they’ve given up reporting property crime. It is often difficult for people to get affordable insurance if they can get it at all,” Calkins told MPs.

“My constituents are tired of being victims, they’re tired of the revolving door of the justice system, and of crime not being taken seriously. They are losing faith in the justice system, because too often it puts criminals before victims and their families.”

Calkins said his Bill C-289 would amend the Criminal Code to add aggravating circumstances for sentencing.

If passed, it would allow sentencing to include “evidence that an offence was directed at property or persons that were vulnerable because of their remoteness from emergency services and, for the purposes of some offences, the fact that a person carried, used or threatened to use a weapon or an imitation of a weapon.”

Calkins’ proposed law would also require courts to “consider the reasons for detaining the person” prior to determining how much credit an offender should receive for time spent in custody prior to sentencing.

Private members’ bills such as C-289 rarely become law in Canada but are believed to have better chances for passage during periods of minority government such as in the current Liberal-led Commons.

Between 2018 and 2019 a parliamentary committee studied the issue of rural crime in Canada. Produced by MPs from each of the country’s major parties, it found crime in rural areas was a “growing concern.”

The majority of witnesses who participated in that study were from Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Because policing is primarily a responsibility of provincial governments, MPs recommended provinces increase investments in policing and “innovative solutions” such as emergency dispatch centres.

— D.C. Fraser reports for Glacier FarmMedia from Ottawa.

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Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s first budget, released April 19, included significant spending to help producers transition to a greener economy and cited agriculture as a foundational pillar of Canada’s future.

“CFA will be working closely with the federal government to ensure that these words are followed with impactful actions that truly leverage the potential in our sector,” said CFA president Mary Robinson in a statement.

Six investments in particular were highlighted by CFA as items in line with the pre-budget recommendations made by Canada’s largest general farm group.

A $1 billion commitment to rapidly roll out broadband projects, and additional money to assist farmers combat COVID-19 and climate change were included on that list, and in budget 2021.

CFA said it would have liked to see “targeted investments addressing the sector’s continued labour needs and leverage domestic market opportunities” but welcomed $1.9 billion in spending over four years to improve Canada’s trade corridors.

“Agriculture has the ability to become a natural climate solution with the continued adoption of technologies and techniques that improve carbon sequestration and capture” with the proper investments and infrastructure, Robinson said.

Bob Lowe, president of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, said the group sees the budget as “a starting place for economic recovery discussions. With enabling supports and strategic investments, the agri-food sector has the potential to come out of the pandemic stronger than ever and help Canada in its fight against climate change.”

The CCA said the beef cattle sector is already leading sustainability initiatives through its 2030 goals and “look(s) forward to being a partner of the government as policies and programs are developed.”

Farmers and ranchers to be part of these discussions, the CCA said, “to ensure there are not unintended consequences for the environment, such as grassland loss.

“We note the budget included land conservation efforts and it is important that grasslands, that are such a vital part of the working landscape, are included in these policies, particularly as other government policies may lead to the unintended consequence of further grassland conversion.”

Farmers For Climate Solutions offered up one of the most comprehensive pre-budget submissions to the federal government, and is claiming a win in budget 2021. Like the CFA, several of its pre-budget recommendations were directly addressed by Freeland.

A $200 million in new funding over two years to help producers reduce emissions through nitrogen management, cover cropping and rotational grazing scored high marks with the organization. So too did the $60 million set aside to protect wetlands and trees over the next two years.

As its name suggests, Farmers For Climate Solutions has focused its lobbying efforts on green investments for the sector as Canada aims to achieve its Paris Agreement targets by 2030.

Ian McCreary, a Saskatchewan grain and livestock farmer who helped develop the organization’s budget recommendations, said Canada’s customers want sustainably grown food.

“This investment will support farmers across the country to scale-up practices that are proven to reduce our sector’s emissions,” he said, “Climate change poses the single largest threat to our sector, and this investment is an imperative for our ongoing success.”

‘Points’

Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau gave credit to the producers who continue to work to reduce emissions on their farms.

“More and more, farmers are the first ones to witness climate change,” she said, adding they are also the first ones that have to deal with changing weather.

“We have to make a much more significant shift.”

Leading up to the budget, the Liberals telegraphed several intentions and welcomed consultations.

While some groups were happy to see the government pay attention to consultations, not all stakeholders were congratulating the federal government for the 2021 budget.

The Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association (WCWG), for one, said it saw little that will benefit grain farmers in the budget and accused the government of failing to consult with the industry before announcing plans to limit nitrogen fertilizer use.

Its previously released climate plan noted direct emissions from synthetic nitrogen fertilizer applications had increased 60 per cent since 2005 and are projected to continue rising.

That plan committed to setting a “national emission reduction target of 30 per cent below 2020 levels from fertilizers and work with fertilizer manufacturers, farmers, provinces and territories, to develop an approach to meet it.”

A $50 million commitment to help retrofit grain dryers to be more environmentally friendly, as part of a $165.7 million investment, was also included in the budget.

“It is staggering to think that the federal government wants grain farmers to adopt commercially available clean technology by moving off diesel and assist with the purchase of more efficient grain dryers – this is an odd proposal and suggests that the farmers don’t already adopt the newest innovations that have proven benefits… which couldn’t be further from the truth,” Margaret Hansen, Saskatchewan’s director for the WCWG, said in a statement.

Despite Hansen’s assertion all farmers are already adopting commercially available clean technology, the federal government plans to help cover the cost of retrofitting about 1,400 grain dryers to be more environmentally friendly.

Asked about a lack of consultation, Bibeau pointed out she regularly ranks among the most lobbied federal politicians.

“I feel that’s all my life,” she said. “I spend my life on Zoom (with stakeholders).”

She said actions taken in this budget, and action items proposed ahead of it, were measured by their contributions to reaching Canada’s climate goals.

“The proposals that were bringing the best results in terms of reducing emissions would gain more points when it came to the final decision,” she said.

Grain Farmers of Ontario, meanwhile, said it “applauds” the government’s budget pledge to return a portion of the proceeds from carbon pricing directly to farmers.

GFO chair Brendan Byrne said the budget “recognizes that many farmers rely on natural gas and propane in their operations and that there are no ready substitutes.”

GFO was among several farm groups calling on Ottawa to exempt fuels used for grain drying from the pollution pricing system. Byrne said the group will “continue to call on the government to similarly rebate funds collected to date, and to ensure that rebates are delivered in a way that is equitable and administratively simple.”

The Canadian Horticulture Council (CHC) said it was “disappointed” in agriculture funding seen in the budget, “as it fails to adequately recognize our sector’s important role in a post-pandemic economic recovery.”

Jan VanderHout, CHC’s president and a vegetable grower in Ontario, said in a statement “we had hoped to receive more support from the federal budget.”

Horticulture producers had called for the creation of a financial protection mechanism for fruit and vegetable growers, pitching it as a no-cost solution for government that would save farm businesses.

“As Canadians continue to deal with the economic impacts of COVID-19, ensuring a stable and secure supply of fresh food remains critical,” said Rebecca Lee, CHC’s executive director.

“A greater consideration for cost certainty, through financial protection and stable business risk management programming, would go a long way to equipping our fruit and vegetable growers with the tools to survive and thrive.”

— D.C. Fraser reports for Glacier FarmMedia from Ottawa.

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