The federal government is speeding up the compensation it is
paying dairy farmers to compensate for the trade deals signed with the European
Union, the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the United States and Mexico.
It will now be paid in three years instead of seven.
And federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau
repeated promises that compensation will be coming for the poultry industry,
for the first time naming an amount of $691 million.
But negotiations continue on how the poultry-industry money
will be spent.
The poultry marketing boards issued a statement saying “this
investment in our sectors is a step in the right direction towards supporting
farmers as they make ongoing improvements to their operations and enhance the
long-term efficiency and sustainability of their farms. It will also help
maintain economic activity in rural and urban communities across Canada.”
They thanked Bibeau and said “we look forward to working with
officials on the development and implementation of these programs and
initiatives in the coming months.”
The dairy compensation totaling $1.75 billion will now be
finished by spending $468 million next year, $469 the following year and $468
million in the last year.
