The Conservatives asked the Liberals about the AAFC facility closures
The Conservatives pressured the Liberals to reverse the planned cuts to AAFC research sites.
On May 28, Jacques Gourde, the Conservative MP for Lévis—Lotbinière in Quebec, asked Agriculture Minister Heath MacDonald if he would change course on closing seven sites across Canada.
“The future of Canadian agriculture is now preparing for the next generation. The closure of seven research centres in Canada reduces our ability to innovate and prepare for the future of agriculture,” Gourde said.
Minister MacDonald’s response indicated Canada will remain an important player in ag research capabilities.
Even with the site closures, Canada will have 17 AAFC research facilities across the country.
“We have been doing research for 140 years, and we are going to continue. We have been working with Laval. We have been working with the University of Saskatchewan. We have been working with the University of Alberta. We have been working with the governments in those provinces,” the minister said. “We are going to continue to build research in this country because it is needed, but we are going to do research for industry, not for the opposition.”
Gourde’s follow up question asked the Liberals why they “always let Canada’s agricuiltural communities down,” through projects like the Cúram program and the proposed Alto rail project between Ontario and Quebec.
Minister MacDonald indicated AAFC is working to support Canadian farmers and rural communities.
There are going to be good-news announcements coming up very shortly in reference to research.
“We are working extremely hard. We are granting an exemption for the use of strychnine in Alberta and the Prairies. We are moving to change the mandates of the CFIA and the PMRA. We are adding pasture rentals to AgriStability, enhancements to the APP and new funding for AgriMarketing, and we are introducing the productivity superdeduction,” he said.
The Conservatives aren’t the only ones calling for the government to change its mind on closing research sites.
On May 28, a Grain Growers of Canada (GGC) statement suggested the Liberals consider the considerations the House ag committee made in a report related to keeping research facilities open.
“The committee’s recommendations reflect what grain producers have been saying directly to parliamentarians: that Canada is cutting research capacity at exactly the wrong time, and that the consequences for crop development, regional expertise, and long-term productivity are serious and irreversible if not addressed,” GGC’s statement says.
In total the committee made 20 recommendations, including finding ways to reduce spending without affecting front-line scientists.