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House Hansard - 235

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 19, 2023 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 235 - Oct/19/23
Mr. Francis Drouin (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Lib.)
  • Oct/19/23 6:55:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, obviously, when farmers go through droughts or climate change events, it is serious. Unfortunately, they are going through this too often. The good news, although it is unfortunate, is that whether provincial or federal assessors, they are getting too used to assessing climate change events through the AgriRecovery programs. As my hon. colleague would know, with respect to AgriRecovery, when a request is made, the province will send a letter to the federal government asking for an assessment. The province and the federal government will do the assessment together and assess whether it fits into the framework. The hon. member knows that there are business risk management programs. Farmers already have access to that through the sustainable Canadian agricultural partnership program. I know he knows that. Whether farmers go through a climate change event, have a bad year or have a bad crop, whatever the reason for it, they already have access to the business risk management program. After that, when the risk gets higher, if it is shared among other farmers, then the province gets access to the AgriRecovery framework. As I explained, the province would write a letter to the federal government requesting an assessment that they would do jointly as to whether it does respect the framework they have assigned. For instance, I know the hon. member would know about the B.C. floods a few years ago. Many farmers went through hardships. I know many dairy farmers did. I was in the Fraser Valley, which was flooded, where farmers were growing fruits and vegetables. Some were raising livestock, which unfortunately had to be killed because of the major floods that happened. With respect to public safety, the province and the federal government worked together, and then AgriRecovery kicked in to ensure that the other losses that were not covered by the regular programs would have covered the existent losses that farmers were not eligible for through existing programs. I can assure the member that, whether it is with respect to the B.C. floods or the hurricane in P.E.I. and Nova Scotia, the timeline will be respected. I know that when farmers are facing a crisis, it can never be fast enough. It is the same thing with insurance; when we are facing a crisis, it can never be fast enough. However, I assure you that the federal government and the B.C. government take to heart the fact that farmers are facing a crisis and will be there with good news to tell B.C. farmers in the northern part of the province. Farmers will be happy with the results.
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