Lac-Mégantic, QC – Luc Berthold, Conservative Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Agri-Food, released the following statement outlining expectations of the Trudeau government ahead of the 2019 Annual Meeting of Federal-Provincial-Territorial Agriculture Ministers in Quebec City:
“Justin Trudeau’s Minister of Agriculture Marie-Claude Bibeau promised Canadian milk, egg and poultry farmers that a compensation plan would be in place by June 30th, but the Liberals have blown past their own deadline and failed to deliver any of the $3.9 billion farmers are counting on. Sadly, this comes as no surprise since the Liberals have been failing our agriculture sector for the last four years – raising taxes, making concessions to Donald Trump during NAFTA negotiations, failing to stand up for Canada when China banned meat, soy and canola seed exports, and leaving our farmers with greater uncertainty.
“With the election three months away, the Trudeau government would rather play politics and delay compensation for their re-election campaign than deliver on their promises. Justin Trudeau must finally release the compensation details promised to Canadian farmers so they can finally receive the support they need. Our farmers can’t afford to wait any longer and they need certainty now.
“Given Minister Bibeau has the second highest number of dairy farmers in her riding in the country, she should understand how her government’s failures are hurting Canadian farmers. Anything less than a fully-detailed compensation plan is unacceptable.
“A Conservative government led by Andrew Scheer will always stand up for milk, egg and poultry farmers and ensure they receive the support they deserve.”