Standing up for Canadian farmers and their families

Each and every day across Canada, our farmers and food processors work hard to put safe, high-quality food on our tables, while driving our economy and creating good, middle-class jobs, particularly in our rural communities. All told, our food sector generates sales of more than $114-billion and accounts for seven per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product. The sector creates one in eight jobs, making it the nation’s single largest employer. Our agri-food exports reached more than $64-billion in 2017, placing Canada among the world’s top-five agricultural exporters. Our government has big plans for agriculture. We singled out agri-food for one of six Economic Strategy Tables that will drive our economy over the next decade. The cornerstone of our support for agriculture is the Canadian Agricultural Partnership. Over the next five years, our government, along with the provinces and territories, will invest $3-billion under the partnership. Together, we are investing in key priorities identified by stakeholders, including trade, innovation, sustainability, and public trust. As well, a full set of business risk management programs ensure that producers continue to have support in managing the significant risks that threaten their farms. The partnership brings a new focus on building public trust in our food systems. It will strengthen diversity by helping groups such as youth, women, and Indigenous peoples take leadership roles in the sector. To help women and youth get established in agri-businesses, Farm Credit Canada recently launched a special loan program targeted to them. Our government’s ambitious agenda for agriculture includes a strong focus on trade and innovation—two key priorities for Marie-Claude Bibeau, our new minister of agriculture and agri-food. Canadian farmers depend on trade, as they export about half of the value of their production. We’ve set our sights on $75-billion in agricultural exports by 2025; more than a $10-billion increase. To help us get there, in the past couple of years, we have concluded three major trade agreements that together will mean billions of dollars of market opportunities for our farmers and food processors. These trade agreements are critically important for the diverse economic opportunities and jobs they create across the Canadian economy. They help Canadian exports remain competitive in important markets in Europe, the Asia-Pacific, and closer to home in North America. Our trade agenda supports an approach that is rooted in fair rules and sound science. We’re working hard to eliminate trade barriers to our world-class products. For example, we know that new markets for our high-quality Canadian canola mean more money in the pockets of our farmers, and support good, middle-class jobs for Canadian farm families, and are working with China to resolve this issue as quickly as possible. At the same time, we know that our supply-managed sector is vital to Canada’s prosperity—providing the highest-quality products to Canadians, at reasonable prices, and supporting strong rural economies. Our government defended and preserved our supply management system from very strong American attempts to see it dismantled. We are committed to fully and fairly supporting our farmers and processors to help them continue to innovate, grow, and remain competitive and sustainable for future generations. As well, we invested $350-million to help dairy farmers and processors modernize and become more competitive as they transition to new market access under CETA, the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement. Successful trade depends on successful trade routes. That is why our government is investing more than $2-billion in trade and transportation infrastructure to help get products to market. We also enacted the Transportation Modernization Act, which is delivering a more transparent, fair, and efficient freight rail system, and includes a number of new tools and benefits for the grain sector. Innovation is another key to the competitiveness of Canada’s agriculture and food sector. Under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, we are investing almost $700-million to support innovation and science. We take a team approach to science through our research clusters to ensure our science delivers on the needs of the sector. We are also investing $100-million in agricultural science to digitize our national collections, hire 75 new scientists and professionals, and launch “living labs,” supporting collaborative research projects that bring farmers, scientists and other stakeholders together to develop practical technologies and sustainable farming practices that can be adopted more quickly by Canadian farmers. While we have made great progress, there is much work to do. For example, we recognize the challenges our farmers and food processing businesses have in accessing a steady workforce. The future of Canada’s agriculture and agri-food sector is full of promise. With an expected global population of almost 10 billion by 2050, we will need an even stronger focus on innovation, to drive a profitable, productive, and sustainable Canadian sector that can feed the world. Building on the great work of her predecessor Lawrence MacAulay, Minister Bibeau and our government will continue to stand up for Canadian farmers, helping to create growth and opportunities for farmers, farm families and rural communities across the country. Liberal MP Jean-Claude Poissant, who represents La Prairie, Que., is parliamentary secretary to the minister of agriculture. The Hill Times