An ag situation playing out publicly in Saskatchewan is one reason a special committee is needed in the province, an NDP MLA said.
During question period on May 6, Trent Wotherspoon, the MLA for Regina Mount Royal and the NDP’s deputy ag shadow minister, asked Agriculture Minister David Marit and the rest of the provincial government to work with the opposition and larger ag community to create a committee whose sole focus is ag, and cited Monette Farms as an example of why one is necessary.
Monette Farms filed for creditor protection on April 21 after defaulting on loans and owing more than $900 million to creditors.
This farm “has fallen into financial trouble and is in creditor protection with many impacts on producers and the province,” Wotherspoon said. “Will this government work with us to urgently convene a special committee to focus on agriculture, including the creditor protection of this mega-farm and its impacts, the soaring costs of inputs, and economic fundamentals of farming and farm landownership?”
The Sask. government didn’t take the NDP up on its request.