Strengthening Canadian ag is a shared responsibility: Minister MacAulay

Jun 21, 2024

Canadian ag ministers will meet in Whitehorse next month

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

Making improvements to benefit Canadian ag takes teamwork, Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay says.

“Strengthening Canada’s agricultural sector is a shared responsibility, and we need to work together to support the great work already being done by farmers, ranchers, and producers in communities right across the country,” he told Farms.com in a prepared statement. “By sharing our experiences and lessons learned in our own jurisdictions, we can help improve the long-term sustainability of Canada’s agricultural sector.”

Lawrence MacAulay

Federal, provincial and territorial (FPT) ag ministers will meet in Whitehorse, Yukon next month.

At these meetings, ministers receive presentations from officials, discuss policy options and make decisions to build a stronger future for ag.

At the previous meeting in July 2023, for example, the ministers discussed topics like the launch of the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership

These events provide “an opportunity for Ministers to have conversations about how we can help folks working in the agricultural sector have the tools they need to manage risk, grow their production, and become more profitable,” Minister MacAulay said. “Through initiatives such as the $3.5 billion Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, now in its second year of implementation, we’re advancing our shared priorities, like increasing resiliency, expanding market access, and fostering innovation.”

Leading up to the FPT meeting next month, Farms.com has contacted ag ministers from across Canada to find out what issues they’ll be bringing forward from producers in their jurisdictions.

The first response came from the Northwest Territories and Caitlin Cleveland, the minister of industry tourism and investment. She’s also the territory’s minister of education, culture and employment.

Emergency preparedness and improvements to business risk management programming are on top of mind for her staff, she said.

Be sure to visit Farms.com often as more responses from provincial and territorial agriculture ministers will come in the days and weeks ahead.

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