A number of hail events resulted in significant damage to farm operations this summer, beyond what has been seen in recent years. In assistance to farmers from the Montérégie region and other regions who have incurred extraordinary expenses, Governments of Canada and Quebec are offering up to $13 million through the 2017 Canada-Quebec Hail Assistance Initiative, offered under the AgriRecovery program as part of the Growing Forward 2.
Jean-Claude Poissant, Parliamentary Secretary of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Stéphane Billette, Delegated Minister for Small and Medium Enterprises, Regulatory Streamlining and Regional Economic Development, echoed the announcement made today par Richard Hébert, Member of Parliament for Lac-Saint-Jean, on behalf of the federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Lawrence MacAulay, and Laurent Lessard, Quebec Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
The two elected representatives of the region emphasized that this was an exceptional measure in response to an extraordinary situation. They also indicated that the assistance being offered does not in any way replace the crop insurance coverage that is available to farmers. Rather, the assistance is intended to support farm businesses that have incurred extraordinary expenses related to this weather event and not covered by existing programs.
Source: AAFC