Bibeau’s mandate letter posted

• Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wants his agriculture minister, Marie-Claude Bibeau, to revamp AgriStability, improve farm inheritance transters, protect supply management and increase exports.
• It’s all outlined in her mandate letter which says:
• In collaboration with the provinces and territories, undertake a review of risk management programs, with a special focus on AgriStability. Help producers manage environmental and business risks by providing faster and better adapted support. Draw lessons from recent trade disputes and evidence-based research.
• Work with the Minister of Finance and farmers on tax measures to facilitate the intergenerational transfer of farms.
• To support farmers as they succeed and grow, lead the consolidation of existing federal financial and advisory services currently scattered among several agencies. The new entity, Farm and Food Development Canada, will serve as a single point of service, delivering products from across government, with an expanded and enhanced mandate and additional capital lending capability.
• Continue to protect supply-managed agricultural sectors and work with them to develop a vision of the future. This will include concluding the work related to full and fair compensation for the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement following its ratification.
• Support the Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade in identifying additional tools to help Canada’s agricultural andagri-food businesses export their products and diversify into global markets.
• Draw on lessons from recent trade disputes and evidence-based research to develop additional capacity within your department to respond to export protections against Canadian agriculture, such as were recently faced by canola, beef and pork producers. This should include the ability to provide faster short-term support for industry when required. Continue to work with the Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade to diversify Canada’s export markets.
• Lead work across government to move forward with the new Food Policy for Canada introduced in Budget 2019. This policy has four areas of near-term action, including:
• Help Canadian communities access healthy food;
• Make Canadian food the top choice at home and abroad;
• Support food security in northern and indigenous communities; and
• Reduce food waste.
• Support the Minister of Health to ensure that the Pest Management Regulatory Agency is making science-based decisions that lead to the safe and sustainable use of crop protection products in Canada.
• Work with the Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages to create a new fund to help producers and processors close the technology and infrastructure gap in order to develop domestic and international markets. This fund will be administered through Western Economic Diversification Canada to connect farmers, researchers, agribusinesses and energy companies.
• Support the Minister of Environment and Climate Change to create a new Canada Water Agency to work together with the provinces, territories, Indigenous communities, local authorities, scientists and others to find the best ways to keep our water safe, clean and well-managed.