Federal government commits to supporting dairy, poultry, and egg producers, November 2022. (File Photo 67533946 © Egasit Mullakhut Dreamstime.com)

By Jaryn Vecchio

Federal government re-affirms commitment to dairy, poultry, and egg producers

Nov 21, 2022 | 12:31 PM

PRINCE ALBERT, SK – The federal government is reaffirming its commitment to help dairy, poultry, and egg producers and processors financially.

Marie-Claude Bibeau, the minister of agriculture and agri-food, has announced the government will provide up to $1.7 billion in compensation for these supply-managed sectors due to the impacts of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).

“Promise made, promise kept,” she said. “We made a commitment to fully and fairly compensate the market losses suffered by dairy, poultry and egg producers and processors, and that is what we have done.”

Up to $1.2 billion is being allocated to the Dairy Direct Payment Program, while around $300 million will be used to create a new program that will support innovation and investment into large-scale projects to add value to solids-non-fat, a by-product of milk processing.

The federal government also plans to provide up to $112 million for the Poultry and Egg On-Farm Investment Program and up to $105 million to support investments in dairy, poultry and egg processing plants under the Supply Management Processing Investment Fund.

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“The measures outlined in [the] announcement provides a tool to navigate the impact of CUSMA on our sector and benefits all Canadians as egg farmers continue to embrace green tech, make enhancements to their farm operations, and grow their sector,” added Roger Pelissero, Chair of the Egg Farmers of Canada.

According to the federal government, it has now committed around $4.8 billion to compensate and support supply-managed sectors impacted by CUSMA, the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

by Jaryn Vecchio