As we head toward the Christmas break, Federal Ag Minister Bibeau is making a flurry of funding announcements.
On Monday of course was the promise of 28 million dollars to help PEI potato growers find a new home for their crops, after the government issued an export ban more than a month ago. If need, some of the money will be used to help producers dispose of one of the best crops they've had in more than 40 years.
Yesterday, the minister made a number of announcements including one concerning organic farming and also an investment in the canola industry. Canola is one of Canada's biggest export crops. The minister announced an investment of more than 1.8 million dollars to the canola council to boost exports. That's a little difficult this year as last summer's crop was the lowest in 14 years, thanks to the drought.
Meanwhile, the minister's announcement this week to help PEI potato farmers is not sitting very well with farmers in the island province. The border closure issued by the Trudeau government a month ago shut down a market estimated to be worth 120 million dollars. Many growers were caught off guard by the ban as they continued to harvest one of the best crops, they've had in more than 4 decades.
John Visser, the chair of the PEI potato board said in a news release, the last four weeks have been horrible for island farmers. Visser blames Bibeau for creating the situation. He says the minister put the ban in place but hasn't been able to explain why the same management practices, which are good enough to allow US potatoes into Canada, aren't good enough to allow PEI potatoes into the states.
Former federal ag minister and potato farmer Lawrence McCauley told growers in his province this week, he understands what they're going through. Although referred to as a temporary ban, the CFIA has told some growers in PEI, the process of trying to convince the White House that shipments of PEI potatoes won't transfer the potato wart fungus to their fields, could take more than a year.
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