Ministers and other stakeholders are in Halifax this week
Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Heath MacDonald spoke with Farms.com from Halifax, N.S. on Wednesday ahead of meetings with provincial and territorial counterparts, and industry stakeholders.
The meetings, which wrap up Friday, are part of the process to develop the next policy framework (NPF) to replace the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (SCAP), which has been in effect since April 2023.
NPF consultations launched in January.
“We’ve done around 20 in-person meetings across the country,” the minister told Farms.com. “It was important for me to be face to face with stakeholders in every province. We wanted to make sure we had all the information we required.”
It’s expected conversations around business risk management (BRM) programs will absorb significant time.
Climate challenges across the country highlight the need for reliable programs.
“BRM programs help producers manage significant risks beyond their control,” he said. “We’re seeing floods in Alberta, floods in Manitoba, drought and climatic issues are prevalent everywhere. Discussions around those programs are certainly front and centre of the mind of farmers and ranchers across the country.”
In addition, Canada’s vast geography and regional nuances add another level of complexity to the conversations.
“It’s a cost-shared program and it’s worthy to sit down with ministers across the country. We’ll see what the impediments are and also what the opportunities lie ahead that we should be considering,” MacDonald said.
Saskatchewan’s livestock industry, for example, has advocated for a national livestock price insurance program, according to Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister David Marit.
Another item looming over the NPF meetings is the geopolitical landscape.
When SCAP came into effect, for example, the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) was still in place.
But this year, President Trump decided not to renew the trilateral agreement, opting instead for annual reviews for the next 10 years.
Canada has to separate CUSMA discussions from the BRM talks, the minister said.
“The climate issues aren’t going to go away no matter what happens with CUSMA,” MacDonald said. “It’s a common interest that our renewed agreement with Canada and Mexico supports Canadian farmers and ranchers.”