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Canadian egg and poultry farmers who have lost domestic market share due to two recent free trade agreements will soon have access to $ 691 million in federal cash, Canada’s agriculture minister announced Saturday.
Marie-Claude Bibeau shared the details of the long-awaited funds at a virtual press conference.
“Today, we position our young farmers for tomorrow’s growth and success,” he said.
The money follows the previously announced $ 1.75 billion for the dairy sector linked to free trade agreements with Europe and the Pacific countries, one that went into effect in 2017 and the other in 2018.
Dairy funds were supposed to flow over eight years, and the first $ 345 million payment was sent last year.
But on Saturday, Bibeau announced a leftover payments schedule that will see cash flow over three years, starting at $ 468 million in 2020-21, $ 469 million in 2021-22, and $ 468 million in 2022- 23.
Bibeau said the most recently announced funds for dairy farmers amount to an average farm of 80 cows receiving a direct payment of $ 38,000 in the first year.
Payments based on formulas
David Wiens, vice president of Dairy Farmers of Canada, said the money will help farms make investments for the future.
“I especially think of the young farmers who have really struggled since these agreements were ratified, now they can actually see opportunities, how they can keep making those investments on the farm so they can continue,” he said.
Payments are based on formulas devised by working groups formed after the signing of trade agreements, Bibeau said.
That means the money doesn’t exactly reflect how much the various industries have lost due to the deals, he said.
“It’s really our best understanding of the future impact and giving them a chance to adapt.”
Trading partners sought greater Canadian access for products
Canada’s dairy, poultry and egg industries are regulated to ensure steady income for farmers in that sector, but Canada’s trading partners argue the system is protectionist.
This has made the trio of industries a sticking point in three separate trade agreements Canada has concluded in recent years: the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with Europe (CETA), the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for the Trans- Pacific (CPTPP) and Canada. United States-Mexico Trade Agreement (CUSMA).
The trading partners wanted more Canadian access for their products, which, according to Canadian suppliers, would lead to huge successes to their profits.
The federal government budget of March 2019 had in turn allocated up to $ 3.9 billion in compensation for commercial concessions made on the management of the offer.
The funds announced by Bibeau on Saturday are only linked to CETA and CPTPP, but he said the latest deal depletes the balance of the previously announced funds.
“I think it’s a great day because there’s something on the table,” said Benoit Fontaine, president of Chicken Farmers of Canada, who said he had yet to see the details of the funding agreement for his industry.
The money announced on Saturday precedes Monday’s revelation about the liberal government’s fiscal fortunes in the form of an economic update. It is expected to establish how much has been spent on programming related to the COVID-19 emergency, but also to outline some new expenses in other areas.
Bibeau said the funds announced on Saturday would be reflected there, but that the amount to be set aside as compensation for the Canada-US-Mexico deal is still being decided.
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