Prince Edward Island’s agriculture minister is disputing claims that the department’s funding was cut by 30 per cent in Wednesday’s budget.
Neil LeClair issued a press release Thursday stating the provincial ag department’s budget has been increased by almost $2 million “over that proposed last year by the previous administration.”
During the past fiscal year, he said, the budget for the department was increased by $11.5 million, or 43 per cent over that proposed by the previous Conservative government.
Given demand-driven programs such as safety nets and other supports, it’s difficult to precisely forecast farmers’ financial needs, LeClair said, but “we were there for producers in the past year… and we will continue to be there for producers in the coming years.”
Read Also
U.S. livestock: Cattle futures down, hogs rise
Live and feeder cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange showed small losses on Thursday, while lean hog futures made…
LeClair’s clarification was “contrary to some news reports,” he wrote, but didn’t specify which reports.
The Guardian newspaper in Charlottetown on Thursday quoted opposition finance critic Jim Bagnall as saying there was nothing in the budget for agriculture and the department’s budget had been cut by 30 per cent.
CBC reported Wednesday that the budget includes $600,000 over three years for research into grains and oilseeds, other incentives for farmers to switch to alternative crops, and a $1.4-million transition fund to help hog farmers adapt to the recent closure of the NOFG hog plant.
