FPT Ag Ministers discussed a number of key issues during their annual conference including the need to improve producer programs

Federal, Provincial and Territorial Agriculture Ministers spent time talking about ways to improve the Business Risk Management programs during their annual conference last week in Whitehorse.

A press release from the event noted that FPT Ministers of Agriculture discussed several areas of interest for Canada's agriculture and agri-food sector. 

The meeting focused on work to advance the resilience and competitiveness of the sector and strengthen the food supply chain. Ministers acknowledged challenges facing many producers in the sector, such as operational costs, labour shortages and potential disruptions. Ministers spoke of the need to continue working across orders of government, and listen to the concerns stakeholders bring forward, to support hard-working Canadian producers and processors. The Federal release can be found here.

Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay says one of the programs they discussed was the Business Risk Management's AgriRecovery program.

"When they apply, it's too long a period of time before they received the funding. Quite simply, when they have a problem agricultural sector, whether you're farmer or rancher in this country, when you have a problem, you need the money. So what we're trying to do is to make sure ... we have to do it properly there's guidelines to be taken but ... we want to make sure we get the money into the pockets of the farmers and ranchers quicker than we have been. We're we're working together to see that that happens."

John Streiker is the Yukon's Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources and hosted the 2024 Annual Conference.

He spoke on behalf of the other Ministers noting they want to say a program that is not only timely, but predictable.

"We don't think it's productive across the country to have a program have to fire up and be specialized each time. We're looking for something that will be more predictable across the board.

Ministers also committed to improving BRM programs and strengthening the support available to address recurrent and emerging risks. 

They also discussed potential adjustments to AgriStability for livestock and agreed to decide on potential improvements at their next meeting.

During the meeting, it was announced that all five major retailers in Canada ( Loblaw, Sobeys, Metro, Walmart and Costco) had agreed to sign on to the voluntary Grocery Code of Conduct.

MacAulay says it will bring more fairness, transparency and predictability. 

"Together, we agree to support the work of Canada's first sector Code of  Conduct Adjudication Office. This includes a short-term, one-time funding proposed by industry of $1.2 million."

MacAulay says they'll continue working with them on the next steps and monitoring their progress moving forward very carefully.

Streiker noted that we need to acknowledge that the grocery chains signed on and developed this.

"So that gives us a sense of their intention. We'll see how it goes with the adjudicator, but it's a good sign that the industry themselves came forward and said, yeah, we want to do this and we're willing to do it."

The $1.2 million for the Code of  Conduct Adjudication Office will have an adjudicator and a team in place to make sure that what they (the five major grocery chains) agreed to and signed on for is being adhered to, and if it's not, there will be a mechanism to resolve any conflict.

The FPT statement also noted that the Ministers reviewed and endorsed the FPT Action Plan to address the recommendations by the FPT Working Group on Pesticide Management who will continue to work directly with the PMRA to ensure meaningful participation. In an effort to enhance transparency, Ministers will receive regular progress reports and have agreed to create an additional working group to explore approaches that meet the needs of producers and protect human and ecosystem health, while using a science and evidence-based approach to regulatory decisions.    

The Ministers also discussed issues relating to international trade, market diversification, and ways to build the agriculture sector’s ability to grow and compete in global markets.

They acknowledged support for Canada's ongoing trade negotiations particularly the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement and the continued engagement and cooperation with Canada's largest trading partner the United States reinforcing the mutually beneficial integration of our cross-border supply chains. They also highlighted the importance of the work to increase exports to the Indo-Pacific region by leveraging Canada's new Indo-Pacific Agriculture and Agri-Food Office and other FPT and industry resource investments in the region.

They also discussed potential labour and supply chain disruptions, priorities around animal disease preparedness, interprovincial trade and regulatory items with efforts focused on accelerating pilot projects for interprovincial trade in meat, in cooperation with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and provinces.

The next Annual FPT Ministers' meeting will be held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in July 2025.