A financial assistance program mirroring the one in CUSMA should be considered, the party’s ag critic says
The federal government needs to come to the table with a financial support program for canola producers the same way it did for dairy farmers during CUSMA negotiations.
That’s the message Heather Sweet, the Alberta NDP’s ag critic, conveyed in an Oct. 16 letter to Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Lawrence MacAulay.
Canada conceded close to 4 per cent of its dairy market during CUSMA negotiations.
To support the dairy sector, Canada introduced the Dairy Direct Payment Program, which would see farmers receive $1.2 billion over six years beginning in Fall 2023.
“The Alberta NDP Official opposition is asking for a similar compensation model to be developed for canola producers,” Sweet’s letter says.
Heather Sweet
Sweet’s letter is in response to China’s anti-dumping investigation into Canadian canola.
The investigation will examine imports of Canadian canola from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2023, and is expected to last until September 2025.
Canadian canola farmers need to be supported during this time and in future challenges, Sweet says.
“Our farmers cannot continue to bear the brunt of international politics and trade negotiations gone awry,” she wrote.
A canola compensation model should have two parts, Sweet suggests.
One part should be “developed to address the impact on the commodity and export market until this dispute between China and Canada is resolved,” her letter says.
The other part should support farmers and commodity organizations.
Commodity groups and “the 8 farmers that have registered to provide evidence at the proceedings,” could face bills totaling $1 million, Sweet wrote.
The Canadian Canola Growers Association (CCGA), for example, says it “registered and was accepted as an interested party to the investigation and will actively participate in subsequent stages of the investigation to represent the competitiveness of Canada’s canola farmers.”
The CCGA is one of 26 registered parties, the organization said.
Farms.com has contacted Alberta Canola for confirmation on how many of the eight farmers are from Alberta, and for more details about their participation in the anti-dumping investigation.