For those in the North and serving remote rural areas, the subsidy is up to 50 per cent.
The Livestock Veterinary Innovation Initiative “focuses on improving virtual care options, expanding telemedicine access and addressing issues with mobile clinics to address current challenges, such as long distances between farmers and animal health care providers and the shortage of food-animal veterinarians working in underserviced areas,” the governments said in a news release.
No estimate of the total costs was provided.
Examples of projects eligible for support include:
- Equipment to help veterinary practices deliver enhanced virtual care, diagnostic work and tele-medical support for farms.
- Portable, specialized, livestock handling equipment to help veterinary practices or farms manage animals while receiving care; and
- Training for veterinary professionals to help them use new equipment, techniques or deliver more efficient and accessible support to livestock farmers.
"Canadian farmers take great care of their animals. It is essential that they have easy access to veterinary services, no matter where their farm is located,” said federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau.
“Our investments will accelerate the implementation of innovative animal health solutions, such as telemedicine, to increase access to veterinary care throughout Ontario."
Ontario Agriculture Minister Lisa Thompson said “we know farmers need reliable and timely access to veterinary services to keep their animals healthy and to grow their businesses. This investment will help farmers protect the welfare of livestock animals and add to our government’s efforts to strengthen access to the high-quality foods our farmers produce.”
Veterinary businesses can apply for support through this initiative starting February 15, 2022 to March 31, 2022.
