On May 15, Parliament adopted amendments that will increase the Canadian Dairy Commission’s borrowing limit from $300 million to $500 million. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant fluctuations in the demand for many dairy products. Unfortunately, dairy farmers have had no choice but to discard some of their milk. Stakeholders throughout the dairy industry supply chain are … Read more
The latest intake of the B.C. Agri-Business Planning Program is now open to applications and expanded to include aquaculture and seafood companies to develop COVID-19 business recovery plans. B.C. agriculture, seafood and food processing business owners are encouraged to apply if their revenues have decreased by at least 30 per cent as a result of COVID-19. … Read more
Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau (Compton-Stanstead, Que.) on behalf of Farm Credit Canada (FCC), announced the launch of a $100-million Agriculture and Food Business Solutions Fund to support proven, viable companies through unexpected business disruptions, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Launched in partnership with Forage Capital Inc. – a Calgary-based venture capital firm – the Agriculture and … Read more
Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau (Compton-Stanstead, Que.) issued a statement on temporary foreign workers on May 12: “Today’s announcement builds on all the work we have been doing since the moment COVID struck to ensure our agriculture sector, particularly our horticultural producers, can count on their workforce and that they can ensure their safety […] We announced … Read more
In response to COVID-19, the Agriculture Training Support Program helps employers in the food supply chain provide necessary training to new domestic employees. The program is intended to offset costs for COVID-19 safety and training, including the costs for personal protective equipment and to remove any barriers to getting Albertans safely working. By providing up … Read more
Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau (Compton-Stanstead, Que.) and Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development Minister Blaine Pedersen announced support for a project which will allow local food producers and farmers’ markets to sell their products online. Canada and Manitoba will be providing a total of $160,000 through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership to Direct Farm Manitoba to purchase a software platform that will allow … Read more
Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau (Compton-Stanstead, Que.) spoke with Mexico Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development Victor Villalobos on the importance of collaboration during the COVID-19 pandemic to sustain uninterrupted food and agriculture trade between our two countries. Both ministers acknowledged that food and food products are essential to safeguarding the health of our citizens and stressed the importance of reliable … Read more
The governments of Canada and Ontario are investing up to $1 million in new funding to connect workers with in-demand jobs in the agri-food sector to keep the nation’s supply chains strong and store shelves stocked during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, the federal and provincial governments will provide support that will … Read more
Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau (Compton-Stanstead, Que.) spoke with the United States Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue to affirm the status of agriculture and food production as critical infrastructure in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, and to underscore the importance of uninterrupted food and agriculture trade across the Canada-U.S. border. They emphasized the importance of agricultural … Read more
Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau (Compton-Stanstead, Que.) and Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister David Marit, announced the deadline to apply, reinstate, cancel or make changes to Crop Insurance contracts is extended to April 13, 2020. Producers interested in Crop Insurance coverage for the 2020 year now have an additional two weeks to finalize their contracts. Extending the Crop Insurance deadline … Read more
